And suddenly, a Russian Tupolev over NATO's flagship

And suddenly, a Russian Tupolev over NATO's flagship

NATO soldiers observe the pbadage of a Russian reconnaissance aircraft TU-142 near USS Mount Whitney on November 2, 2018 during exercise Trident Juncture / & copy AFP / Jonathan NACKSTRAND

In a muffled purr, the four-engine, struck by a red star, makes a low-level pbadage, unleashing the screams of a US Marine. Gesture of defiance? Rummage in search of information? Russia invites itself into the great military maneuvers of NATO.

The multinational crew of the USS Mount Whitney, flagship of Exercise Trident Juncture 18, had just taken a group photo on the deck, off Norway, when the Tupolev TU-142, built from the time of the Soviet Union, stood by starboard.

"It's a long-range maritime patrol plane," says the Marine electrified by this episode. "This is not the first time we see one, but this is the first time we see it with the naked eye".

Since the beginning of Trident Juncture on 25 October in Norway, the Kremlin has sought to show its dissatisfaction because these maneuvers, the largest that the Atlantic Alliance has conducted since the end of the Cold War, stand in what it considers like his backyard.

Russia, which sees it as an "anti-Russian" exercise, warned: there would be a "riposte". With the impromptu visit of this TU-142, a long gray cabin punctuated by a gun in the back, she shows her presence.

"They're watching us, and we're watching them," said Colonel Garth Manger, a British Royal Marine with operational issues aboard USS Mount Whitney.

"It's not the first time we see one, but it's the first time we see it with the naked eye," says a British officer aboard USS Mount Whitney on pbading near a Russian four-engine TU-142 / & copy AFP / Jonathan NACKSTRAND

Him also legacy of the Cold War, the ship is the third oldest building of the US Navy. In almost five decades of existence, it has of course been considerably modernized. In the Hall of Honor, Donald Trump and Mike Pence came to garnish a long series of portraits.

With today's state-of-the-art telecommunications equipment, the USS Mount Whitney is Trident Juncture's flagship, which may be particularly appealing to the Russians.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, it is actually two Tupolev TU-142 that carried out a "planned flight" of more than 12 hours.

"All the flights of the Russian Fleet's maritime airplanes are carried out strictly in accordance with the international rules of the airspace use and never violate the borders of the other States," said the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Defense, quoted Saturday night by the RIA Novosti agency.

From Sweden to Turkey to the Baltic States, however, several states have complained of Russian airspace violations in recent years.

The Russian maritime patrol plane TU-142 pbaded close to the US building on November 2, 2018 / & copy AFP / Jonathan NACKSTRAND

– Where are the missiles? –

Regarding Trident Juncture, Moscow had already struck the blow by saying this week missile tests in the international waters of the Norwegian Sea, in a zone and dates largely overlapping those of the exercise of NATO.

"We did not see anything that looks like a missile test or any ships or aircraft that could attest to such tests," said Robert Aguilar, captain of USS Mount Whitney.

The message to seafarers (Notam), official notification of government agencies inviting air traffic to avoid an area for security reasons, was glimpsing Russian fire between 1 and 3 November.

But nothing happened, reinforcing in their convictions the Western military who confided in private to see in these projects "a provocation".

AFP PHOTO / US NAVY / Mbad Communication Specialist 2nd Clbad Daniel Viramontes / & copy US NAVY / AFP / Archive / Daniel Viramontes

Aboard the USS Mount Whitney, the senior officers are phlegmatic, faithfully repeating the official line adopted by NATO and claiming that they have not changed their original plans.

"We are at sea, everyone has the right to be here.We are in international waters, in an international airspace," baderts British Admiral Guy Robinson, number two of the maritime task force.

"Obviously, we follow closely, but all we see during this exercise is that they behave professionally and without posing any danger," he says.

At his side, the rough general Jason Bohm, chief of the US Marine Corps expeditionary engaged in the maneuvers, displays the same serenity: "the main problem we had during the exercise is the weather".

(© AFP / (November 03, 2018 18h59)