BI: NATO monitors Russia's military actions using AWACS complexes
NATO conducts reconnaissance near the Russian borders using specialized AWACS systems mounted on "flying radars." Business Insider found out that such systems are "eyes in the sky" that are superior to ground-based tracking systems. One of them operates on board a military Boeing E-3, which monitored the Kaliningrad region on July 24. What is known about this method of tracking is in the material of Gazeta.Ru".
The countries of the North Atlantic Alliance are monitoring Russian military equipment and infrastructure in the Kaliningrad region using specialized AWACS (aviation electronic intelligence and control system) systems. This is reported by the American news portal Business Insider (BI) .
The correspondent of the publication became a direct participant in monitoring military activity in the vicinity of Kaliningrad. This week, the journalist was invited aboard a Boeing E-3 Sentry long-range radar detection aircraft, whose crew completed an eight-hour reconnaissance mission over Eastern Europe.
Production of the Boeing E-3 Sentry "flying radar" was discontinued in 1992. According to BI, the aircraft is a "time capsule of the Cold War period." Nevertheless, the aircraft is equipped with classified advanced equipment, which is used for reconnaissance.
The most secret area of the plane, where the key communication systems are located, was hidden from the journalist by a curtain.
"Planes see everything"
The Boeing E-3 Sentry radar rotates every 10 seconds and can identify a wide range of targets, from warships and aircraft to air defense systems. The "flying radar" is being sent to places where stationary ground-based reconnaissance equipment is useless, BI stressed.
On one of the screens, which the journalist was allowed to view, activity was recorded in Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad.
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| NATO countries bordering the Russian Federation. |
| Source: Alina Djus/"Newspaper.Ru" |
BI claims that if a Russian fighter jet had taken off from an air base in Kaliningrad, the AWACS system "would certainly have detected it."
"Tiny triangles and U-shaped signs were flashing on the illuminated control panel. Each sign indicated the presence of a ship, fighter jet or something else moving near the Baltic Sea and the militarized Russian enclave of Kaliningrad," BI added.
"Wipe off the face of the earth"
NATO military aircraft regularly flies near the Russian borders. In particular, on July 24, the aforementioned Boeing E-3, as well as a Bombardier Challenger 650 Artemis reconnaissance and targeting aircraft, a Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighter and an Airbus A330-243MRTT tanker aircraft operated near the Kaliningrad Region, the FlightRadar24 Air Force Telegram channel reports.
In addition, on July 17, the commander of the US Army in Europe and Africa and NATO ground forces, General Christopher Donahue, said that NATO countries could "wipe out" the Kaliningrad region "from the face of the earth in an unheard-of time and faster than ever."
"We have already planned and developed this," the military commander stressed.
The Kremlin did not ignore Donahue's statement. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian president, noted that Moscow hears such hostile words often.
"This is another statement in a series of such hostile, aggressive statements that we often hear now... NATO is an instrument of confrontation, it is a bloc that is hostile towards our country," he said.
Russian presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev added that Moscow would immediately respond to the military encroachment on the Kaliningrad region by any means at its disposal.
Mikhail Sinev
