Russia releases an interesting video filmed from the aircrew of a Russian Navy Il-38 “Dolphin” (NATO reporting name “May”) ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) aircraft flying close to a U.S. carrier battle group in the Pacific.
A video, allegedly filmed from the cockpit of an Il-38 has recently been published online. It shows the Russian ASW aircraft, escorted by an F/A-18E Super Hornet, flying by a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier.
The video says the flattop is USS George Washington (CVN 73). However, the latter entered the Dry Dock at the Newport News Shipbuilding in August 2017 for a 4-year Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH). Moreover, the Super Hornet in the footage belongs to the VFA-27 “Royal Maces” (it’s actually the CAG bird) assigned to CVW-5 that completed the last deployment aboard CVN 73 in 2015.
The video must have been from the 2013 USS George Washington Cruise because that was the only time Mace 200 BuNo 168363 flew with a black centerline tank on cruise with that paint scheme. There is a photo of it in their cruise book too.
The video shows a close and safe interaction between the Russian and the U.S. Navy:
what makes the video interesting is the fact that we don’t happen to see such close flybys from inside a Russian ASW aircraft as it is escorted by a U.S. fighter.
It’s pretty obvious that in peacetime conditions, foreign spy planes, bombers, maritime patrol aircraft etc, approaching an aircraft carrier are detected at a significant distance (depending on their type, altitude etc) and then intercepted and escorted as they operate in international airspace close to flattop.
Love to see the Humanitarian side of both Country’s working together.
Love to see the Humanitarian side of both Country’s working together. it allow us to have a peace of mind knowing that our troop man are working together.