A totally unsurprising news item from Reuters this morning:
U.S. Navy scrambled jets as Russian warplanes approached carrier
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier scrambled four fighter jets to intercept approaching Russian warplanes as it carried out a military exercise on Tuesday in the Sea of Japan, U.S. military officials said on Thursday.
The two Russian TU-145 “Bear” jets came as close as a nautical mile from the carrier and were flying at a low-altitude, about 500 feet (152 m) above sea level, the officials said.
TU-145 Bear is a long-range anti-submarine warfare plane and a variant of the TU-95 Bear strategic bomber.
The incident, although unusual, was characterized by the Pentagon as “safe.”
About as “safe” as having Barack Obama as commander in chief I suppose.
Oh what the heck: since I have a few leftover pics from tomorrow’s weekly photo spread, might as well give a preview:
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.