Russia sent an offbeat Independence Day greeting to the US in the form of 4 nuclear bombers patrolling along the West Coast.On 4 July at 10:30 am,2 TU-95 Bear bombers approached the Alaskan coast and were intercepted by 2 US Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters.Thirty minutes later,2 more TU-95s neared the California coastline and were intercepted by 2 USAF F-15 Eagles.Neither pair of the Russian Bear bombers entered the 12-mile wide expanse of US airspace,North American Aerospace Defense Command said.Interception of the bombers could have occurred up to 200 miles out from the coast,a US official noted.
A similar incident occurred on 4 July 2013.Such Russian patrols are not unprecedented,but we are positioned to respond whether Alaska or California,NORAD spokesman Michael Kucharek stated.Worldwide,Russian military aircraft have been stepping up aggressive behaviour since the Russian invasion of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine,and NATO's response to it with sanctions and increased readiness.*
Part of NATO's response is the ongoing series of exercises by the US Marine Corps' Black Sea Rotational Force and NATO allies.US Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa announced Monday 6 July that Platinum Lion 15-3 was underway at the Novo Selo Training Area in Bulgaria.Besides the BSRF Marines,participants in the two-week series of drills include Bulgaria,Romania,the UK and Albania.The exercise will strengthen the partnerships between the NATO allies and improve their military skill sets by sharing knowledge.Troops will also get to bond on a personal level,improving their cohesion as potential warfighters.
Platinum Lion 15-3 will foster interoperability through sharing ideas,thoughts,tactics,training and procedures.Among the rotations will be:
1.Classroom training;
2.Multiple live-fire events;
3.Military police training;
4.Maneuver training;and
5.A culminating event in the form of a 3-day live-fire platoon attack exercise to provide a challenging and realistic training scenario.*
I believe we have a lot to learn from each other,said US Marine Captain Michael R McNicoll,Commanding Officer of Company G,2nd Battalion,8th Marine Regiment.
Platinum Lion became one of the greatest examples in Europe of connected forces and NATO smart defence initiatives,added Colonel Iavor Mateev,Head of the Joint Military Facilities Department at the Bulgarian Defence Ministry.
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