A British RC-135 surveillance aircraft off the coast of Crimea has passed within visual range of an aircraft belonging to a Russian charged with transporting Russian heads of state and VIPs.
The encounter appears to have gone by without any hostility or unprofessional activity from either side. The British RC-135 was conducting a routine mission off the coast of Crimea aimed at monitoring Russian activity in the area.
https://twitter.com/geoallison/status/1470736472747692034
The purpose of the flight is unknown but the aircraft departed Moscow before heading around Crimea in international airspace.
#RSD078 IL-96-300, no special variant from what I can find, heading over the #BlackSea pic.twitter.com/1dGl3ujOmY
— qooᴎꙄʏqooᴎꙄɘʜT (@TheSnoopySnoop) December 9, 2021
What does the RC-135W do?
According to the Royal Air Force website, the RC-135W Rivet Joint is a dedicated electronic surveillance aircraft that can be employed in all theatres on strategic and tactical missions. Its sensors ‘soak up’ electronic emissions from communications, radar and other systems.
“RC-135W Rivet Joint employs multidiscipline Weapons System Officer (WSO) and Weapons System Operator (WSOp) specialists whose mission is to survey elements of the electromagnetic spectrum in order to derive intelligence for commanders.”
The Royal Air Force say that Rivet Joint has been deployed extensively for Operation Shader and on other operational taskings. It had been formally named Airseeker, but is almost universally known in service as the RC-135W Rivet Joint.
The UK operates three of these aircraft.
Really sad that a few politicians stir the pot. Inasmuch as one can generalise, the Russians seem nice people with families, good times and bad, much like the rest of us. Hope they all have a good Christmas and don’t invade Ukraine!!
Read your history – Russians 1 on 1 are great people. As a group, they’re in the food chain withs rats and hyenas, and I only lived in Latvia!
However, their poison was in my school children from a very young age, and I really don’t know the solution other than what happened to the 3rd Reich; maybe afterwards they’ll give their heads a collective wobble and settle down and contribute to the world the enourmous culture and science they can generate.
I always try and separate the individual normal folk from the ruling classes of a nation. So I’m not sure I would go for the statement “as a group”. but I would say their ruling class have always been the worst type of power mungers. The Imperial Russian ruling classes were such bastards and controlled their population so brutally that they still effectively had a medieval serf culture in the 20c, which is why they all ended up against a wall. Then the same propensity for Power mad scum to rise up to the top caused the second revolution in which the Bolsheviks effectively murdered every moderate or non Bolshevik supporter. Then we’re so horrible it lead to a further brutal civil war. Finally let’s not forget he Bolsheviks actually allied with Hitler as they were so blindly horrible.
Russia is just one of those nations that always seems to ends up with a really essentially evil ruling class, The present lot are essentially fascist corporatists of the worst type ( as are the Chinese, they are not actually communists, only in name).
Nailed Johnathan ….
I did a little contracting work for a UK based Russian business jet company who happened to outfit Putin’s Airforce One (in Russia) and a number of aircraft for Russian executives here at a UK airfield.
The employees were highly skilled engineers, lovely guys, but they were genuinely terrified of the management and never looked the boss in the eye, always looked at the floor….
The company was thrown out of the UK 10 years ago for various reasons I probably best not go into….
The point being, it was a microcosm of the Russian state, ruled by a tyrant with a rod of iron and it’s how the Russian State effectively operates.
Today Putin appears to have settled on a hybrid of the Imperial Russia, with the State mechanisms of the USSR, elements of National Socialism and dash of personality Cult to finish it off…
It’s a heady and very dangerous mix…..
What animal would you compare Brits to ?
Why the noble Lion of course…….
To be honest we are probably something like the clearer Wrasse.
for most of our history we have been the cleaver little minnow darting in and out of the the teeth of military superpowers. Trading services for increased power and influence until the little Wrasse was the master of the sharks.
The Grouse.
The Famous Grouse, hhm!
Depends on the history. One version has it that we in Britain owe them a huge debt. If they hadn’t absorbed something like 80% of Germany’s armed forces in WW2 we could well be speaking German now.
That they had two well known major invasions from the West has clearly had an impact on the way they view the trustfulness of us and NATO. Then they suffered another, less known and albeit not military but financial, attack on the core of their society, state assets.
After the wall came down and the SU dissolved, in the 90s all was sweetness and light between the West and Russia for one reason, they let the marauding (I chose that word carefully) western bankers in who proceeded to rape and pillage their assets. Then, when Putin stopped that very lucrative operation, hate the Russians came back into fashion.
Whilst a reason for them looking less prosperous than us is that post 1998 when they had their financial crash (ours is yet to come) they have, unlike the rest of the World, refused to fund today’s prosperity from borrowing into the future. That they have been able to achieve advances that send shivers down, the vastly outspending them (in debt as well), military spine of US is certainly above the pay grade of rats and hyenas, as you describe them.
Maybe if they hadn’t agreed to invade Poland and divide it with Nazi Germany they may not have had to fight WW2.
This agreement allowed Germany to beat France and knock the UK pretty much out of Europe.
Which then gave them a free hand with the Soviet Union.
In 1939 Russia and Germany invaded Poland starting WW2.
Yes you are a true Russian very bad at history and lack reality lol.
Maybe a different take on history but a strange Russian as I was born in Hillingdon Hospital back in the day when Maternity was in an old wooden building.
You forgot to mention how the west piled in to invest in Russia in the 90’s but Russia was so messed up after the fall of the USSR the Russian mafia was in full control making it very hard todo business, the US even spent millions cleaning up all the rusty Russian nukes left unmaintained, Its not the west’s fault the kremlin ran out of money trying to maintain its land empire and a weapons race , there’s a different take on history and there’s dilutions.
Agreed. 99% of people in a country are good people, even in Russia – it’s the people in power that are the problems
Precisely!
Just come back from living in Russia for many years, and have a Russian wife and kids that are dual citizens. I have met some great people in Russia, and have a number of Russian friends. Great country.
Unfortunately, the citizens of Russia don’t seem to have the ability to free themselves from slavedom. Many are suckers for a personality cult and very easily led. Many believe that they are somehow stronger and we are weak. The reality, of course, is quite the reverse. Many educated, intelligent people know the true score with regard their country. It’s a shame really.
Russia outside of Moscow and St. Petersburgh is a totally different world.
From your experience, do you think that might be a cultural hangover from their past? i.e. 70 years f of communist totalitarian rule? After all , they probably only know what they know, right?
Well I think you do have a lot of Russian delusions , as for NATO its not their fault that ex USSR states went west for freedoms and investment for the future something old mafia state Russia cannot provide.
Many older people tell me the Soviet Union was better as they had more stability than now. Of course, they are talking about the later SU and not the early version under Stalin.
Simply put, many Russians are lost in their own mythology. Many truly believe that they have a deeper soul and are somehow unbeatable. WW1, Soviet-Afgan war, the Cold War and the Russio-Japanese War put paid to that idea, and that’s just in the last 100 years. But those are brushed over in the history books.
It all comes down to education and upbringing. The internet is both Putin’s worst enemy and best friend, and that’s why he wants a sovereign internet. To control the information flow.
All that said, after only a little time back in the UK, it’s blatantly clear that all isn’t hunky dory in my homeland.
Not sure if i really answered your question.
Actually, that’s a great answer! Thanks for going to the trouble of writing such an informative post.
It’s not just the communists ( a very specificity Nasty group of pretend communists, who shot and killed all the actual communists) . It’s the cult of the tsar, the strong man, it’s been the Russian culture of leadership since the very beginning of the Empire, the Leninist cult, basically replaced one tsar with another through the soviet system, Putin then basically took over as Tsar.
Putin wants to become tsar, king or supreme emperor. He is defacto those now, but he wants the title to be official.
He then wants his son(s) to take over the throne and continue the Putin dynasty. Before anyone says it, yes he does have a son(s). How do i know? The mentality is so easy to read.
Actually Jonathan, I had considered commentating on the Tsars. From my limited understanding , the peasantry were slaves in everything but name, being tied to their landlord estates. It’s not hard to see how this would lead to revolution.
Yes imperial Russia is a fascinating point of study as it literally was a feudal system that survived into the 20c, it very much shows how Russian culture differs from western and Central European culture, the Age of Enlightenment never really spread as Far East as Russia.
You do realise Russia is multi cultural empire of the old fashioned verity, a county or culture are not allowed to leave and Putin is working very hard to bring back in those nations that slipped out of the empire during the fall of the Soviet system.
The Russian plane was probably carrying Mr Putin who is hand delivering his battle plans for the upcoming invasion of the Ukraine.
Merry Christmas Ukraine 🎅
Yeh that will not be Santa’s slay over head!!
That’s right mate it’s SU and Migs Hopfuly it doesn’t happen 👃
Fingers and toes crossed
Seems the Russian VIP made a very circuitous route around it’s own AAW equipped troops. Cannot say I blame them.
Wow. The UKDJ never ceases to amaze! Well informed and cerebral comment as always.When I think of the Russians, I have to rely on cameos and stereotypes as we have very few down here in SA and one film comes to mind-Local Hero with one of the characters a larger than life Russian sailor with a surfeit of charisma and booming voice plus a propensity for alcohol😂 Also from John Clark’s post concerning looking at the floor when the boss is around. There is another lovely scene where the Yank is in the village square circled by a group of locals and a little child wanders into the gathering. The American enquires”who does the little kid belong to?” The Villagers all cast their gaze at the floor and no one answers…😆
Oh yes Geoff. Settled down in my armchair for a little read about aircraft, and, lo!, a veritable feast of history has unfolded. Moreover it has all been fairly amicable, which I like.
AA
Hi AA. Watch Local Hero-a great movie and music to match. Kind Regards
Rc 135 , checking out, the Ukrainian / Russian forces build up if any too give early warning that a Christmas football match is about too start GCHQ will be doing the Commentary in English, GCHQ was chosen as RAF personnel helping NHS booster programme
What is the point of spying on Russia, if the Russian decides to invade Ukraine or any other state. there’s not much anyone can do against almighty Russia, what a waste of money.
How can this happen with today’s technology. I remember about 6 years ago flying to London in a Singaore Air jumbo, we were flying over the Black sea when a small jet plane passed us flying in the opposite direction close enough for me to see the cockpit crew, i was quite concerned for the rest of the trip.