9/11 the lost tapes.

Never forget
Never forgive.

Some of the tapes of the female military comms personnel made very uneasy listening – I wonder how much time and gravitas was wasted with their inane comments and vacuous comms skills when relaying important information between the military and ATC?

The male of the species is not immune from this either!!

You should hear some of the tapes I heard whilst in the military on exercise

…the big threat probably was still seen by many (especially the entire political leadership who had cut their teeth in the cold war) as the FSU.

As mentioned above, with good reason.

Also, think about the world prior to 9/11. The US had fought several “peacekeeping” operations in the Balkans, Africa, and of course the Persian Gulf War in the previous decade. None of those even began to pose a realistic threat to the Continental United States, and aside from some saber rattling with China and NK in the intervening years, the big threat probably was still seen by many (especially the entire political leadership who had cut their teeth in the cold war) as the FSU.

Of course the Cold War had ended but the scenario was still a potential threat to be countered. The Russians don’t fly their out of area long range missions just for the fun of it. They are training their crews for their mission to launch nuclear air launched cruise missiles as part of their triad system.

A Russian bomber exercise had started on the 10th September 2001 and the US/Canada had already pre-positioned additional fighters in preparation for the incursions into the air defence identification zones.

A large Pacific area air exercise involving Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic and theater bombers was to have begun on September 10. Blackjack bombers were spotted at Anadyr AB, and additional U.S. and Canadian interceptors were moved to the area to monitor the exercise. The Russian Defense Ministry cancelled the exercise after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington at the request of the U.S. Government, to ensure that there would be no accidental incidents involving Russian aircraft flying near U.S. borders.

http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/nudb/datab14.asp

Don’t they still come down the Iceland Gap and test the RAF response?

There were two Tu-95 Bear Hs in the North Sea on the 11th September 2012. Luftwaffe F-4 Phantoms even got to play this time they were that far south.

http://en.ria.ru/mlitary_news/20120912/175920165.html

See following link for Dutch F-16 QRA Scramble on 11th September 2012.

http://home.tiscali.nl/mysteryship/

Some of the tapes of the female military comms personnel made very uneasy listening – I wonder how much time and gravitas was wasted with their inane comments and vacuous comms skills when relaying important information between the military and ATC?
It also seemed like all those damned essence-stealing Russki’s had to do was switch off their transponders when they made their bombing attacks in WW3…

Yes, the military knew the “Cold War” was over, but the Russians still fly Bears on patrol/recon/training flights.
Don’t they still come down the Iceland Gap and test the RAF response?

Yes, the military knew the “Cold War” was over, but the Russians still fly Bears on patrol/recon/training flights.
Don’t they still come down the Iceland Gap and test the RAF response?

This is at the biggining of the program. It mentions a “Training scenario to intercept Russian bombers”. This has nothing to do with the scrambling of fighters later in the episode.

From what I remember of watching this last night, they didn’t mention Russia or any country as the aggressor but an attack by aircraft. That’s why the F16’s headed out to sea iso heading NW as directed as they followed SOP’s

A thoughtful programme though

I guess any exercise needs some sort of “scenario”. That one would be as good as any.
Bear in mind at this time, hijacked airliners being used as bombs were not the threat anyway.

Is this the documentary that was first shown last year?