ChoppedLiver
New member
...and they were warned to get out of that airspace.
Both pilots may still be alive.
Turkey Shoots Down Russian Warplane Near Border With Syria
ISTANBUL — NATO member Turkey shot down a Russian warplane after it violated the country's airspace near the Syrian border on Tuesday, officials said.
The Russian aircraft was warned 10 times in five minutes before being fired upon, according to the Turkish air force.
A U.S. military spokesperson in Baghdad backed the assertion that the Turks warned Russian pilots they were in Turkish airspace before shooting down the aircraft.
"I can confirm that, yes," Col. Steve Warren told a briefing but could not say whether the incursion was deliberate.
He added that the U.S. did not observe the shoot down and did not have any American personnel in the area at the time, but heard what transpired because the aircraft were operating on open channels.
The incident — the first time a NATO member's military has downed a Russian or Soviet military aircraft since the 1950s, according to Reuters — risked worsening tensions between Moscow and the West.
A visibly furious Russian President Vladimir Putin called the incident a "stab in the back by terrorist helpers."
"This despite the fact that we signed an agreement with our American partners to warn each other about air-to-air incidents and Turkey ... announced it was allegedly fighting against terrorism as part of the U.S. coalition," he said.
"Do they want to have NATO serve ISIS? I understand that every state has regional interests, and we respect that, but we would never tolerate crime like today's," Putin added.
more at...
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/turkey-shoots-down-russian-warplane-near-border-syria-n468671
Both pilots may still be alive.
Turkey Shoots Down Russian Warplane Near Border With Syria
ISTANBUL — NATO member Turkey shot down a Russian warplane after it violated the country's airspace near the Syrian border on Tuesday, officials said.
The Russian aircraft was warned 10 times in five minutes before being fired upon, according to the Turkish air force.
A U.S. military spokesperson in Baghdad backed the assertion that the Turks warned Russian pilots they were in Turkish airspace before shooting down the aircraft.
"I can confirm that, yes," Col. Steve Warren told a briefing but could not say whether the incursion was deliberate.
He added that the U.S. did not observe the shoot down and did not have any American personnel in the area at the time, but heard what transpired because the aircraft were operating on open channels.
The incident — the first time a NATO member's military has downed a Russian or Soviet military aircraft since the 1950s, according to Reuters — risked worsening tensions between Moscow and the West.
A visibly furious Russian President Vladimir Putin called the incident a "stab in the back by terrorist helpers."
"This despite the fact that we signed an agreement with our American partners to warn each other about air-to-air incidents and Turkey ... announced it was allegedly fighting against terrorism as part of the U.S. coalition," he said.
"Do they want to have NATO serve ISIS? I understand that every state has regional interests, and we respect that, but we would never tolerate crime like today's," Putin added.
more at...
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/turkey-shoots-down-russian-warplane-near-border-syria-n468671
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is duly noted...
