What does the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation fly. Shoigu's plane aroused NATO's suspicions. "Meetings" over the Baltic

The NATO fighter, trying to approach Shoigu's plane over the Baltic, was "driven away" by the Russian Su-27.

The F-16 fighter tried to approach the plane of the Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu over the neutral waters of the Baltic. NATO planes wanted to escort the head of the defense department when he was on his way to Kaliningrad, but the minister flew with an escort of fighters naval aviation Su-27, one of which "driven away" the F-16, wedged between the NATO and Russian sides. The Su-27 demonstrated its armament to the NATO member by flapping its wings. After that, the F-16 flew a long distance.

In turn, in NATO, rapprochement with an aircraft Sergei Shoigu called it standard procedure, noting that in such cases they remain at a safe distance.

Conducting an off-site meeting of the collegium on security issues in the Western strategic direction in Kaliningrad, Sergei Shoigu said that the situation at the local borders of Russia tends to worsen due to NATO military activity in Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries.

As explained to the "Bell of Russia" Chief Editor magazine "Arsenal of the Fatherland", military expert Viktor Murakhovsky, the situation that happened with the board Russian head military department, journalists often call "interception", however, this is a categorically wrong assessment. Under the mentioned maneuver is meant a situation when two fighters pinch a civilian or military aircraft and force it to land where it is needed or intercept it for destruction. According to the little information available so far, according to the expert, we are talking about the escort of a civilian aircraft by a NATO fighter, and, judging by the statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense, there was a dangerous approach that violated the elementary rules of flights in international airspace.

In order to make some more accurate military expert analyzes about the incident in the sky over the Baltic, according to the interlocutor of the publication, it is necessary to have more information and details.

“Firstly, it is not known which country the plane belonged to and from which air base it took off, respectively, how far it traveled before trying to approach the Russian plane. If a NATO plane took off from the Estonian Ämari airfield or from a Polish air base, then this changes the nature of what happened and the goals set, as well as the response time of the NATO command to the flight of the Russian aircraft. Either this was worked out in advance or the leadership of the alliance made decisions on an interactive basis, acting according to the situation,” Viktor Murakhovsky explained.

All civil-type aircraft used by the RF Ministry of Defense fly in accordance with international rules and with the transponder turned on. In this case, the NATO leadership and the air traffic control service had the information what kind of aircraft it was, given that each aircraft has a unique identification number. On the other hand, despite the fact that the Russian side has repeatedly proposed to NATO to turn on identification beacons on military aircraft, the alliance has refused to do so. Therefore, according to the interlocutor of the publication, from this point of view, the approach of an unidentified military object to the board, which flies according to the rules of international traffic, poses a certain danger.

Military columnist for the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper, former press secretary of the Russian Ministry of Defense Viktor Baranets believes that the recent rendezvous of a NATO aircraft with the head of the military department of the Russian Federation should not be overly dramatized and cause panic. The fact is that NATO might not know exactly who is on the plane. The F-16, judging by the footage, did not perform dangerous maneuvers, but only tried to confirm the declared target, which they could designate on the ground. Therefore, according to the military expert, given the acuteness of Russian-American and NATO relations, this news should not be blown up into a sensation.

Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the incident, forwarded to the Ministry of Defense the question of whether the incident had been reported Vladimir Putin.

IN Lately such things are increasingly taking place, therefore, according to the head of the analytical department of the Institute of political and military analysis Alexandra Khramchikhina, the behavior of a NATO fighter in international airspace, alas, today can be regarded as a common practice. Back in the days cold war the parties actively used dangerous approaches, and such maneuvers at one time were perceived as something ordinary, in the order of things. As for the escort of the Sergei Shoigu liner by Russian military fighters, then, as the interlocutor of Kolokol Rossii noted, this fact also raises serious concerns, resembling one of the elements of a full-scale confrontation between the USSR and the West.

Former commander in chief Air force(Air Force) of Russia, General of the Army Petr Deinekin believes that the actions of the Su-27 pilot of the naval aviation of the Baltic Fleet, who pushed back the F-16, deserve respect. At the same time, he explained that during flights over the open sea, military aircraft of different states carry out mutual escort, sometimes at minimal distances from each other. Therefore, everyone acted within established laws and rules.

The day before, another incident occurred in the skies over the Baltic involving an American RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. The Russian Su-27 was raised to intercept it over the Baltic Sea. During the escort, the American plane tried to get close to the Su-27 and performed a provocative turn. The Russian pilot reacted to the maneuver and continued to escort the reconnaissance aircraft until it turned away from the country's border.

Escorting a Russian minister's plane, according to a military expert Boris Rozhin is an unfriendly signal from NATO to the Russian leadership. Therefore, it is possible that this will lead to the intensification of mutual retaliatory military efforts, and Russia will simply not leave the incident without attention.

According to the Ministry of Defense, in just the past week, reconnaissance aircraft from the United States and NATO countries have made more than a dozen flights over the Baltic near the borders of Russia.

Another incident in the airspace of the Baltic Sea, this time personally touched Sergei Shoigu. The NATO F-16 fighter tried to approach the transport board, on which the Russian Minister of Defense was at that moment. Even Russian escort fighters had to intervene in this process.

NATO F-16 fighter to the aircraft of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

“Our fighter quite transparently hinted to the“ partner in the fight against terrorism ”that you don’t need to approach this car”

The minister's liner, flying to Kaliningrad, was accompanied by an escort of Su-27 naval aviation fighters. NATO planes, among which was the F-16, also tried to follow the minister. The incident was not limited to this, and the F-16 went to rendezvous with Shoigu's side. However, a Su-27 fighter stood in its way, which showed its armament to the aircraft of the alliance by swinging its wings. After that, the F-16 fighter retired. Through the porthole, a video of the approach of the F-16 was filmed from Shoigu's plane.

Shoigu himself, commenting on what happened, noted: “The situation that is developing among our western borders, ". “This is due to the increased military activity of NATO countries in Eastern Europe,” the Minister of Defense stated.

The Minister pointed out: the North Atlantic Alliance is increasing its presence in the Baltic countries, strengthening and developing their military facilities, such as seaports, airfields, etc., ostensibly to protect against Russia.

The F-16 maneuver has already been commented on in the State Duma. This is a completely abnormal phenomenon, especially in relation to an official state person of such a rank. This is a provocation,” said State Duma Deputy Colonel-General Hero Soviet Union Nikolai Antoshkin quoted by TASS. The parliamentarian stressed that there had never been such cases, “when the Minister of Defense was flying, he was accompanied by a NATO fighter”. He noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense "will send appropriate notes on this issue."

"The Su-27 made a transparent hint - you should not approach"

“The NATO Air Force fighter was performing a routine combat training task of reconnaissance and identification of an aircraft,” Army General Pyotr Deinekin, former Air Force Commander-in-Chief Hero of Russia, explained to the VZGLYAD newspaper.

“I am sure that this pilot did not know that the Russian Minister of Defense was flying on a transport plane as a passenger,” the interlocutor emphasized. “As for the actions of our fighter, he quite transparently hinted to his “partner in the fight against terrorism” that this machine should not be approached, but one should behave respectfully,” Deinekin said.

Regarding the existence of any instructions in this regard, he noted: “You cannot write instructions for all cases. And in a particular episode, the pilot acted with dignity. And in his place, I would have done the same. “And if I were in my place, I would encourage him,” added the former commander-in-chief of the Air Force.

The Su-27 acted in a standard manner, said Vasily Kashin, an expert at the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, in a commentary to the VZGLYAD newspaper.

“The aircraft provided security for a high-ranking official,” the military expert said. “He showed that he keeps the situation under control in case the other side suddenly tries to act provocatively in some way, for example, trying to get too close to our transport aircraft.”

“The Baltic is a zone where it is very tense now, patrols are constantly carried out, the parties are watching each other,” he added. According to the military expert, such incidents should continue to be expected.

Not the first dangerous encounter

The number of incidents with NATO aircraft has increased dramatically in recent years. Just on Tuesday, the media reported that the Su-27 was forced to take off to intercept an American RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea. The RC-135 made a dangerous turn towards the Su-27. The Russian plane reacted to it and in response approached the American liner at a distance of up to one and a half meters. The Su-27 continued to follow the RC-135 until it began to move away from the Russian border.

In the United States, such actions were called unsafe. In response, the Ministry of Defense recalled that it was the RC-135 that was the first to perform a provocative turn, so the Su-27 pilot was forced to respond.

On June 6, a Russian Su-27 fighter was again forced to intercept and escort a US Air Force B-52 strategic bomber flying along the Russian border over the waters of the Baltic.

An American F-16 fighter attempted to approach the plane carrying Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

This incident was recorded during a flight over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea. Shoigu and his entourage flew to Kaliningrad for an off-site meeting of the collegium of the Ministry of Defense, dedicated to ensuring security in the western strategic direction.

It is reported that an escort Su-27 aircraft got in the way of the NATO fighter, forcing the F-16 to move aside. The American pilot retired after the Su-27 "demonstrated weapons" by swinging its wings.

Recall that the Russian Defense Ministry is constantly talking about the fact that NATO planes are trying to conduct reconnaissance near the borders of Russian airspace.

The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the latest incident, asked the military of the Ministry of Defense whether Vladimir Putin had been informed about the incident. A similar incident occurred just the other day, when a Russian Su-27 approached an RC-135 at a distance of up to one and a half meters.

The Americans called this behavior provocative and unsafe, in response to which the Russian Defense Ministry said that the RC-135 was the first to turn towards the Russian fighter. Thus, the Russian pilot acted strictly within the instructions, providing escort for the RC-135 until it stopped moving towards the Russian border.

Earlier, journalist Dmitry Smirnov published in his Facebook a video showing the interception of a civilian aircraft by two Swiss Air Force fighters. Not so long ago, two F-18 fighters with ammunition approached a Russian civilian airliner. “The pilot was delighted that they were filming him, waved his hand and gracefully went up. But then he returned,” Smirnov said.

It should be noted that at the time of the interception, there were journalists on board the liner, the Russian delegation at the APEC summit, the head Federal Service for military-technical cooperation Alexander Fomin. The fighter approached so close to the side that its number J-5024 became visible.

And in November, the plane with the Russian delegation on board, flying to Peru for the APEC summit, was accompanied by a pair of fighters with the Swiss flag. The Russian media wrote about this, expressing bewilderment at the actions of the Swiss pilots. On the plane were journalists from the Kremlin pool and employees of the presidential protocol service.

In the sky over Switzerland, military aircraft first accompanied the liner from the left wing, then from the right wing, after which they swerved sharply and went to the side. Before the maneuver, the F-18 pilot waved to the civilian airliner. On this occasion, the embassy Russian Federation in the country sent a note to the Swiss Foreign Ministry, in which it asked for clarification "in connection with the incident with the Russian government aircraft in the sky over the Confederation."

There have already been cases with Swiss pilots before - in 2015, the F-18 fighter was already intercepting a liner with Russian parliamentarians flying to Geneva for a session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Then the Swiss authorities refused to apologize for the interception, calling the rapprochement between the fighter jet and State Duma deputies "routine patrolling of the airspace." Today, such incidents have themselves become something of a prosaic.

"The plane of the head of the Russian Defense Ministry flew over the neutral waters of the Baltic with an escort of Su-27 naval aviation fighters. Eurofoghter Typhoon fighters were flying two kilometers from them. It is reported that they did not approach the ministerial board," the media wrote in 2016.

"When one of the NATO planes made an attempt to approach the Russian side of Shoigu, a Su-27 fighter escorted between them stood up. He turned so that the F-16 pilot saw a suspended missile weapon. After that, the NATO plane left the flight zone, "- experts write.

“The Russian Ministry of Defense began to attach armed escort to the sides of its leadership just after such “interceptions,” they add.

MOSCOW, June 22 - RIA Novosti. The fighter jets that escorted the plane of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu over the Baltic the day before belonged to the Polish Air Force. According to the Polish military, the F-16s rose to intercept after the alarm.

What happened

The incident occurred when Shoigu's plane was flying to the Kaliningrad region. The minister's aircraft followed with an escort of Su-27 naval aviation fighters.

One of the NATO planes tried to approach Shoigu, but a Su-27 stood between him and the Russian liner. The fighter "showed" its weapons to the F-16 pilots by swinging its wings, after which it flew away.

The alliance took similar measures during the minister's flight from Kaliningrad to Moscow. True, in this case, the fighters followed at a considerable distance from the Russian aircraft, without trying to get closer.

Position of Warsaw

The fact that the fighters were Polish was first reported by radio station RMF FM. Later, these data were confirmed by the operational command of the Polish Armed Forces.

The Polish Air Force constantly patrols the sky over the Baltic countries, which do not have their own combat aircraft. On Tuesday, the military received an alarm "in connection with Russian vehicles," notes RMF FM.

In this regard, our F-16s flew into the Baltic Sea, where they intercepted three targets: an unarmed Tu-154 and two Su-27s armed with air-to-air missiles.

NATO position

NATO confirmed the fact of the interception of Russian aircraft the day before. At the same time, the alliance noted that they did not know who was on board the liner.

“When any unknown aircraft approaches NATO airspace, the national air forces and NATO take to the skies to track these flights. Our actions were standard. Usually, when NATO aircraft intercept an aircraft, they visually identify it, all the while maintaining a safe distance,” said representative of the military bloc.

"This is standard procedure, all of our pilots are behaving in a safe and responsible manner," he added.

The alliance also accused Russia of stepping up air force flights over the Baltic Sea last week.

"They included strategic bombers, fighters, reconnaissance aircraft, transport and other aircraft," the NATO spokesman said.

At the same time, the alliance has no claims against the pilots themselves.

"We assess the behavior of Russian pilots as safe and professional," the NATO official said.

Who is the master in the sky

Commenting on the incident with the Shoigu plane, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Science and Sociology of the Russian University of Economics. Plekhanov, military political scientist Alexander Perendzhiev said that the alliance wanted to show that it was NATO that was the "master" in the skies over the Baltic.

“This is not just a show of force on the part of NATO, but I would say that this is some kind of attempt to intimidate our military leadership. The alliance is trying to show who is the “master” in the airspace over the Baltic,” the expert said on Sputnik radio.

According to him, NATO's activity near the Russian borders is constantly growing.

"The eastern flank of NATO has recently been strengthening significantly. After all, if you look at the situation after 2013, from the well-known events in Ukraine, not only exercises began to be conducted, but as a result of these exercises, an entire military infrastructure began to line up along our borders, and after each exercise this infrastructure is being built up. That is, in this case we are talking about concrete pressure on Russia, and pressure is almost constant. If earlier we could say that NATO members are simply training near our borders, now these exercises are becoming more and more threatening," - says a military political scientist.

"Escort" for Shoigu

The current incident is not the first time that NATO aircraft have followed the movements of the Russian defense minister. A similar incident occurred at the end of March last year - then Eurofighter fighters escorted Shoigu, who also flew to the Kaliningrad region.

At that time, combat aircraft did not approach the plane of the head of the Ministry of Defense, following him at a distance of two kilometers.

Later, NATO explained the actions of their pilots by the fact that the Su-27s accompanying the ministerial Tu-154 did not get in touch.

"NATO radars detected three aircraft over the international waters of the Baltic Sea: two Russian Su-27 fighters and a Tu-154 transport aircraft. The Su-27 fighters did not provide a flight plan, did not contact controllers and did not use transponders," RIA Novosti said. alliance representative.

As promised, we continue about the plane of the Ministry of Defense in the Seychelles. It's very funny how, after a week of silence, Shoigu's department began to respond to us with posts by paid bloggers and LifeNews reports.

General refrain of the answer: AAAAA!!! You spelled everything wrong. This is not corruption at all. It was not the generals who flew Shoigu on a plane to hang out in the Seychelles!

It was the oligarch-politician Prokhorov who took the girls to his party on the plane Shoigu (sometimes the word "girls" is replaced by brighter epithets).

As evidence, "according to Lifenews" and these "photos of girls" are given.

The great thing is that these posts usually stand between posts on the topic "We will show the pendos", "Forward, Russia", "Glory to the brave military" and "I will tie myself with a St. George's ribbon."

I'm sorry, but I can hardly imagine that the "pendos" plane of the Minister of Defense takes girls to parties in the Seychelles. It is difficult to consider this a source of pride for the armed forces. It is possible that this is exactly what happens in the armed forces of Albania, but we are a country with nuclear weapons and claiming global leadership.

You can't just take and ride the girls on the plane of the Minister of Defense.

1. No one disputes that we were right and the flight was not official.

2. The question of who was on board remains open. Generals? Girls? General girls? Generals girls?

3. It also remains an open question whether the flight of girls and other generals on this plane is legal?

Let's move on to a review of some of the facts that we established after the publication of the investigation.

1. As part of the units of the central subordination of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, there is an 800th air base (AvB) (military unit 15565), which is based in Chkalovsky: previously it was the 8th Special Purpose Air Division, which in 2009 became 6991 AVB, which in 2010 became 800 AvB. The 800 air base includes the 223 flight detachment, which can lease some of the aircraft that belong to this air base. 800 ABB through the 223rd flight unit performs commercial flights under the CHD code (CHD). Military flights are operated under the RFF code (RFF) - the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

So, yes, we agreed, indeed, some aircraft can be used for commercial flights.

2. It is known for certain that the RA-85155 aircraft was transferred to the Ministry of Defense in April 2010 and is intended for the Minister of Defense. A distinctive feature of this particular side is the livery inscription - Russian Air Force, which, by its very appearance, indicates the military nature of the side.

Moreover, the aircraft is equipped with flight and navigation equipment, special communications equipment that meets the needs of the RF Ministry of Defense.

3. It is noteworthy that after the publication, all available scanty data about the aircraft was deleted from flightradar, which is very unusual. Most likely this was done at the request of the military.

4. Could the 223rd flight detachment carry generals and girls to ride in violation of the law? At least they've been seen doing it before. We have a report of the Accounts Chamber for 1997-1998 on the inspection of the 8th Special Purpose Air Division and the 223rd Flight Detachment in particular, and there is a full bouquet of violations.

The even chamber conducted an inspection of the 223rd flight detachment twice. The audit materials of 1998-99 shed light on a whole range of violations: waste, inefficient use of aircraft, transportation of favorite sports teams, etc.

And, surprise, these violations are exactly the same as what we accuse the MoD of today. All the same misuse, waste, etc. In 2013, another inspection was carried out. The Accounts Chamber reported on its results in December, but they did not publish the audit materials. We are confident that this document will provide answers to many interesting questions. Therefore, we demand the publication of these materials. We have every right to know how taxpayers' funds are being used.

5. What should be done to charter a 223LO board?

If the 223rd Flight Detachment is going to send its aircraft somewhere, then for this it needs to coordinate with the air traffic controllers, airfield support, crew support, etc. - all this is called the organization and provision of air transportation of passengers, baggage and cargo. The contract for this is concluded through public procurement.

We called 223 LO to charter exactly the RA-85155, we were sent to an agent - a company called Themis. That is, it is Themis that is engaged in the chartering of this board. However, on the website of Themis itself, not only this particular aircraft, but also the Tu-154M aircraft in general, was not found. And at the moment, the list of boards has been completely removed from the site. It is noteworthy that the 223rd Flight Detachment was completely closed after Lent.

Nevertheless, Themis replied to an official request from the media that this aircraft carried 40 passengers and 3 tons of stage equipment within the specified time frame and offered to request a list of passengers at Vnukovo-3.

6. Despite such a cheerful answer, we did not find the RA-85155 board in the lists of aircraft that are transferred under the control of Themis. Yes, and the opposite would be strange - this is the Minister's plane.

7. Lifenews reports that Andrey Makarevich flew on this plane, to which Znak.com reasonably decided to ask Makarevich whether the trip took place. Andrei Makarevich confirmed that he spent the May holidays in the Seychelles. “Yes, we flew there, however, not on the plane in question, but on a regular, scheduled flight,” Mikhail celebrated his birthday (on May 3, Prokhorov turned 49 years old - ed.) Say which plane Prokhorov flew there, I can’t - when we arrived, he was already there.

That is, Makarevich did not fly with the girls-generals.

Thus, we fix the intermediate stage of our investigation. We have two forks:

a) generals or girls.

b) legal or illegal.

Four combinations are possible, but we are satisfied with only "legally generals".

"Generals illegally" and "girls illegally" are a criminal offence.

"Girls are legal" - well, this is a political question about the prestige of the country and a question about the quality of the work of special services.

Questions to which we are now seeking answers from Minister Shoigu:

1. On what basis is an aircraft equipped with flight and navigation equipment and special means of communication that meet the needs of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation handed over for the transportation of girls (if they were)? Doesn't this threaten the security of the Russian Federation? Could, for example, such shipments be a cover for the installation of spy equipment?

2. Are there any legal grounds for renting this particular aircraft? Based on the foregoing, we conclude that there are no such grounds.

3. If the Minister's aircraft is leased for commercial lease without legal grounds, then who takes the money from this lease?

Well, I immediately answer the question: why did you cling to the plane? no other problems?

There are other problems, but, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, when heifers are taken to the beach by the minister’s plane, this is an indicator of such a mess in the country, which makes this trifle a system-forming problem. This is an important defect of our state.

We want the planes of the Ministry of Defense to carry generals, officers, soldiers and Gattling guns. Let the girls be transported by commercial aviation.