To get intel about Russian Forces in the Black Sea, Air Force bombers will draw out. Part of the operation will be five NATO spy planes to get the information needed from the Russian sortie.
Last August, a flight of six U.S. B-52s that came from an American AFB in North Dakota went to the Royal Air Force Base in Fairford. They intentionally attracted the attention of the Russians located in the Black Sea that will have another intelligence trap to monitor Russian assets.
Last Wednesday, one of the B-52s (Hero 31 call sign) intentionally crosses from international to airspace over the Black Sea close to Ukraine and Romanian coasts. It drew the attention of Ukrainian MiG-29s and Su-27 interceptors in a heartbeat, reported Forbes.
Sources report that the bomber simulated an attack run on Odessa, then diverted to Romanian. The U.S. Strategic Command made a tweet on Wednesday, saying, "Our team from @TeamMinot has been busy!".
Covering the bomber approach into the Russian zones, they were under monitor from five high-tech NATO spy planes. They were monitoring all activity that came from the commotion of interceptors, as Russian units went on red alert and scrambled. All planes dispersed over the international waters in the Black Sea. All the activities intel kept track of. But whether the Russians know they were baited is left to be seen.
Spy planes that took part in the intel-gathering mission are two RC-135Ws, one from the U.S. Air Force, USAF RC-135U, U.S. Navy P-8, and a Royal Air Force Sentinel. All the reconnaissance planes were sending their coordinates with radio transponders, which can be tracked by civilian websites too.
These intel and recon planes offer a host of data collection capabilities with equipment just made for that purpose. Take the RC-135 their electronic sensors that monitor radar and electronic signals. Under the P-8 is one of the best onboard sensors on any plane and radar on its belly to track ships or vehicles on the surface. For the Sentinel, it is similar to the P-8, with tracking radar.
All together, the five-intel gathering planes place detects Russian vehicles, seek out anti-air defenses like surface to air missiles. Lastly, is to spy on Russian radio activity.
There is no indication of the Russian reaction to the bomber fight last Wednesday. Hero 31 straddled Ukraine and Romanian air space as it crossed the territory.
In the mission with Fairford B-52s, Russians opened their over the horizon radars and sent fighters from Crimea with a radio-relay plane coming from Moscow.
During the B-52 intercept, one Su-27s came close enough to one of the bombers. Afterburners on rocked one of the bombers that was close enough.
According to Gen. Sergei Vladimirovich Surovikin, the action taken by the Russian air force is a timely reaction to the purpose of the NATO bomber in restricted air space to enact the most effective countermeasures.
If the five NATO spy planes can do this, it is not farfetched the Russians will set up some similar of their own.
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