nuclear-news

Norwegian military found out that Russian bomber near Norway’s coast had nuclear warhead

Report: Russian bomber intercepted by Norwegian F-16s carried nuclear warhead, Alaska Dispatch News Thomas Nilsen, Barents Observer February 3, 2015 A Norwegian military listening post intercepted cockpit conversations revealing that one of the Tu-95 flying around the coast of Norway last Wednesday had a nuclear payload on board.

Two F-16s were scrambled from Bodø airbase and met the Russian planes outside Finnmark. A group of six Russian aircrafts were identified by the Norwegian fighter jets — two Tu-95 strategic long-range bombers, two Il-78 tankers and two MiG-31 fighter jets. The incident took place on Wednesday, Jan.28.

The Norwegian F-16s followed the Russian planes outside Norwegian airspace on the southbound route. For Norway, scrambling F-16s to meet Russian bombers has been routine since President Vladimir Putin in 2007 ordered his strategic bombers to resume flights in international airspace.

The British newspaper Sunday Express reported that there was a nuclear payload onboard.

The newspaper reports that both Prime Minister David Cameron and Defense Secretary Michael Fallon were alerted after cockpit conversions confirming the bomber’s nuclear payload were intercepted by a Norwegian military listening post and shared with the British Ministry of Defense…

….. BarentsObserver has not succeeded getting the nuclear warhead information confirmed, or disproved, from either the Norwegian military intelligence or the Joint Command Headquarters. http://www.adn.com/article/20150203/report-russian-bomber-intercepted-norwegian-f-16s-carried-nuclear-warhead

February 4, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, weapons and war