The Russian Defense
Ministry also said that the Pentagon had reasons to be concerned that the
delivery of the Russian-made S-400 systems to Turkey might tarnish the image of
the F-35 stealth aircraft.
MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/. The air defenses of Russia’s Kaliningrad
Region are capable of repelling air attacks from the United States, including
those involving fifth generation fighter jets, the Russian Defense Ministry
said in a statement on Friday.
"Russia’s
Kaliningrad Region is well protected from any aggressive plans that American
generals who visit Europe may have," the statement reads.
The ministry pointed
out that "all NATO pilots who happened to conduct flights near Russia’s
airspace in the Baltic region are well aware" of the technological
capacity of Kaliningrad’s air defenses, including the ability to detect and, if
necessary, destroy air targets. "It fully applies to the United States’
fifth generation fighter jets, which are ‘invisible’ only to US taxpayers and
foreign buyers," the statement adds.
The Russian Defense
Ministry also said that the Pentagon had reasons to be concerned that the
delivery of the Russian-made S-400 systems to Turkey might tarnish the image of
the F-35 stealth aircraft.
"Commander of US
Air Forces in Europe General Jeff Harrigan’s thoughtlessness and naive belief
in plans to conquer Kaliningrad should cause concern, first and foremost, to
his immediate subordinates who, unlike him, seem to be familiar with one of the
most important principles of military commanders: all plans look good until a
battle begins," the statement said.
‘Mock missile attack’
on Kaliningrad
The National Interest
reported earlier, citing independent analyst Steffan Watkins, that a
"non-nuclear-capable B-52… flew a mock cruise-missile attack on
Kaliningrad on March 14, 2019." According to Watkins, the aircraft took
off from Louisiana’s Barksdale Air Force Base in the US and "conducted a
mock nuclear cruise missile strike on the Russian Federation, only turning
around 60 nautical miles from Russian airspace" and landing at Royal Air
Force Fairford in the United Kingdom.
"The Russian
exclave of Kaliningrad, which lies between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic
Sea and is geographically separate from the rest of Russia, practically
bristles with S-300 and S-400 air-defense missiles, Oniks anti-ship missiles
and Iskander surface-to-surface missiles," the article said, adding that
"US forces believe they know how to crack Kaliningrad," according to
Commander of US Air Forces in Europe General Jeff Harrigan.
Kaliningrad Governor
Anton Alikhanov said, commenting on the National Interest article, that the
United States should refrain from plotting to attack the exclave because the
technological prowess and morale of the troops deployed there empowered it to
fight off any adversary.
Source: ITAR-TASS 21-09-2019
