RAF Fighter Planes Intercept Russian Bombers

Even during the Cold War I'm not sure the RAF would have shot down Russian recon planes for airspace violation if it was clear that no hostilties would result from it. The Russians on the other hand would shoot down NATO planes violating their airspace if they could, case and point KAL 007. Given the current climate both sides would not resort to deadly force for such an infraction..

[edit on 7-9-2007 by WestPoint23]

Originally posted by neformore
Not by the RAF.

Never.

I know that but civilian airliners have been shot down by either China or Russia, I cant remember which because it was about 10 years ago but I remember someone did it.

The Russians shot down a S.Korean 747. They implied it was actually a military jet, loaded with cameras and spying on a fake "accidental" flight profile.

The US accidentally shot down an Iranian passenger jet over the Gulf, which is where alot of the anti-US feeling comes from in Iran.

They are the only two civlian shoot downs I am aware of. There have been a whole host of military ones, but thats for a different thread sometime.

reply to post by neformore


True enough but wasn't it also established that the Korean 747 was used as a cover by a Boeing 707 based US spy plane on an almost identical course and was shot down in error because of this?

Hardly excuses the Ruskie's actions but not quite as originally presented either if I remember correctly.

No it is not established. The RC-135 Cobrabell was on a "race track" course monitoring Soviet ballistic missile test. KAL 747 was on a different heading and the Soviets had plenty of time to visually identify the aircraft as civilian and to try and make radio contact. It gets pretty complicating but the source above gives a good overview.

Anyway, the USSR also shot down KAL 902 in 1978 in a similar incident.

Originally posted by WestPoint23
Anyway, the USSR also shot down KAL 902 in 1978 in a similar incident.

Well they say that you learn something new every day and its true, because that one completely passed me by.

Going back to the Iranian shoot down - Skunk Works details an encounter where an SR-71 on recon over the Gulf in that period that had just come off a tanker was told to "identify itself or prepare to be engaged" by a US warship. Scary stuff, because it makes you wonder what would have happened back then if a Russian aircraft had been in the area.

The Asian Union is on the rise, Oceania will not be happy.

I think it's just Russia trying to tend attention away from Iran, their oil buddy.

[edit on 10-9-2007 by Gorman91]

Originally posted by darkbluesky
I meant no offense to anyone under 32 years. I was just pointing out that most folks born after '75 (excepting history students and USMA grads) have no clear memories or knowledge of all the cold war cat and mouse games.

Well I was born in 1975 and even though I lived in NZ, I sometimes couldn't sleep for the fear of nuclear war. I watched the documentary "threads" and the movie "the day after". We had the United States, France and England testing nuclear bombs in our backyard.

I lived in terrible fear of Nuclear war from around the ages of 6 to 12.

I guess I am an exception....

-SB