Once upon a time, the only place where a western fighter jet could come within meters of a Russian MiG was on Top Gun [3].
[4]
However, according to a video released earlier today by the Norwegian Armed Forces, that is no longer the case.
In the clip, [5]a Russian MiG-31 "suddenly cut in front of one of two Norwegian aircraft sent up by NATO to intercept Russian aircraft in international airspace north off Norway. “What the hell,” says the Norwegian F-16 pilot in the video, as he dodges the MiG-31 passing him at a distance estimated to be closer than 20 meters (65 feet)."
According to the WSJ [5], the release of the video on Sunday follows a series of publications by Norwegian defense authorities regarding encounters with Russian aircraft this year, and it marks another sign of escalating concern among North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies over Moscow’s increased military activity.
The Norwegians are angry:
Norwegian Armed Forces spokesman Brynjar Stordal declined to say when the incident occurred, but said close calls such as this are rare. “We could have had a collision between the aircraft,” he said. “The pilot has a spontaneous reaction in the video, and both his comment and the evasive maneuver indicate that this is unwanted … We don’t know if this was a mistake by the Russian pilot, or a sign of a more aggressive behavior by the Russians.”
Or perhaps it was just aggressive behavior by Norway? After all, the Norwegiansdecided to intercept the Russian aircraft in international airspace on behalf of NATO.
It is now a provocation to fly in "international airspace"? Actually, it isn't. "“I don’t think there’s a special need for worry, but we are of course monitoring the activity,” Minister of Defense Ine Eriksen Søreide said in an emailed statement. Ms. Søreide said it was legitimate for the Russian military to exercise, also in international airspace, but that “Russia, like everyone else, must abide with international aviation laws and regulations. It is unacceptable that Russian planes create dangerous situations in European airspace….”
Wait a minute, according to that clip, it was the Norwegian behind the Russian not the other way around. And last we checked with any insurance company, it would have been the Norwegian's fault if a "dangerous situation" was created. Sadly, it increasingly appears that NATO's only motivation these days is to create as many "dangerous situations" involving Russia [6], as possible, with hope that one of them finally escalates into more than just jawboning. After all, one can't stimulate plunging "Keynesian" GDP with mere harsh words or John Kerry-esque "diplomacy."
