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Russian jet confrontation a 'close one,' Defence official says - The Globe and Mail
A Canadian Forces pilot has his picture taken in front of a F-35 Strike Fighter mock-up before a news conference in Ottawa on July 16, 2010.
Friday, July 30, 2010 12:10 PM
Russian jet confrontation a 'close one,'
Defence official says
Daniel Leblanc
Canada and Russia engaged in a war of words Friday over this week’s confrontation between two Canadian CF-18 fighter jets and two Russian bombers.
National Defence officials said the fact that two Russian TU-95 Bears flew into Canada’s “area of interest” – about 250 nautical miles, or 460 kilometres, away from Goose Bay, Nfld. – constituted a “close one.” The incoming Russian planes were spotted by NORAD on Wednesday, and two Canadian fighter jets were dispatched from the air force base in Bagotville, Que., to meet them.
"This incident demonstrates why it is vitally important for the Canadian Armed Forces to have the best technology and equipment available. This is true whether we are asserting our Arctic sovereignty, fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan or aiding reconstruction efforts in Haiti," the Conservative Party said in talking points on the incident released Friday.
The Russian replied that the flight was simply a training exercise that didn’t enter Canadian territory, which is defined as a 200-nautical-mile zone beyond the coast.
“We haven’t violated Canadian airspace,” an official at Russia’s embassy in Ottawa told The Globe. “There is no problem here.”
The Liberals said the government reacted appropriately to the Russian activity, given the country’s attempts to lay claims to territories in the Arctic.
But Liberal MP Marc Garneau said that such flights “have been going on since the start of the Cold War,” and that the Conservative government seems to be using the incident to justify its plans to buy new F-35 fighter jets at a total cost of about $16-billion.
A Canadian Forces pilot has his picture taken in front of a F-35 Strike Fighter mock-up before a news conference in Ottawa on July 16, 2010.
Friday, July 30, 2010 12:10 PM
Russian jet confrontation a 'close one,'
Defence official says
Daniel Leblanc
Canada and Russia engaged in a war of words Friday over this week’s confrontation between two Canadian CF-18 fighter jets and two Russian bombers.
National Defence officials said the fact that two Russian TU-95 Bears flew into Canada’s “area of interest” – about 250 nautical miles, or 460 kilometres, away from Goose Bay, Nfld. – constituted a “close one.” The incoming Russian planes were spotted by NORAD on Wednesday, and two Canadian fighter jets were dispatched from the air force base in Bagotville, Que., to meet them.
"This incident demonstrates why it is vitally important for the Canadian Armed Forces to have the best technology and equipment available. This is true whether we are asserting our Arctic sovereignty, fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan or aiding reconstruction efforts in Haiti," the Conservative Party said in talking points on the incident released Friday.
The Russian replied that the flight was simply a training exercise that didn’t enter Canadian territory, which is defined as a 200-nautical-mile zone beyond the coast.
“We haven’t violated Canadian airspace,” an official at Russia’s embassy in Ottawa told The Globe. “There is no problem here.”
The Liberals said the government reacted appropriately to the Russian activity, given the country’s attempts to lay claims to territories in the Arctic.
But Liberal MP Marc Garneau said that such flights “have been going on since the start of the Cold War,” and that the Conservative government seems to be using the incident to justify its plans to buy new F-35 fighter jets at a total cost of about $16-billion.
