Displacement of the destroyer Donald Cook. What scared the American destroyer. Consequences and comments

As we previously reported, the US destroyer USS Donald Cook is currently located only 100 kilometers from the coast of Syria:

In the very difficult and tense situation that is now developing around Syria, such a strange position of the ship raises many questions. However, it is confirmed by a number of other sources:

Destroyers of the Arleigh Burke class are the most massive ships of the US Navy, there are more than 50 of them in service, and therefore even enlightened admirals in the Pentagon will find it difficult to list them. But it so happens that USS Donald Cook is one of the most famous ships in the United States; this name is remembered even by Romanian housewives:

Based on this episode, the presence of the USS Donald Cook, a ship with such a brand name, almost in direct line of sight from Russian military bases in Syria raises questions and suspicions. Why?

For shooting at Syrian targets cruise missiles the distance of 100 km, to put it mildly, is too small, unless we assume that the valiant sailors will throw the Tomahawk combat units manually:

For some espionage purposes, 100 km is also quite close. Moreover: a destroyer is not exactly a specialized ship for remote observation. And information about his “spy mission” somehow strangely quickly leaked to social networks.

And in this mysterious situation, for some reason, the story of another American ship immediately comes to mind - the story of the armored cruiser Maine.

At the end of January 1898, the Maine arrived on a friendly visit to Cuban Havana, where a few weeks later the ship spontaneously exploded right in the roadstead. The United States immediately blamed the Spaniards for this explosion, who planted a mine under the ship. And this became the reason for the subsequent war.

As historians have repeatedly pointed out, the US military is very bad at creativity, and in the following decades they prepared the reasons for war according to almost the same scenario.

The last time was in July 1964, the year the United States sent warships of the Seventh Fleet to the Gulf of Tonkin to patrol off the coast of North Vietnam. On August 2, the crew of the destroyer Maddox, seemingly carrying out electronic reconnaissance, reported that three North Vietnamese torpedo boats were approaching them.

Official historians are confused about what happened next; who started shooting at whom first is very unclear. In any case, Maddox was in the territorial waters of Vietnam and the Vietnamese boats had every right to shoot. And as a result of the subsequent shooting, from which, by and large, no one was particularly harmed, the United States entered the war.

Based on the above, the unknown mission of the USS Donald Cook now raises terrible suspicions. What is he actually doing a hundred kilometers from Tartus?

The story of the “chemical attack by the animal Assad” did not work out for the Americans from the very beginning; the same fake cannot be repeated an infinite number of times. Now, if because of this the fakery starts nuclear war, the world may not understand: a more serious reason is needed to turn this world into dust.

In this situation, if the USS Donald Cook suddenly sinks, the Russians can be blamed for the death of the ship. And then the reason for the missile strike will be iron-clad, no one will understand the reasons because they have no intention. Moreover.

In the event of a missile attack on Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry promised the Americans to sink their fleet. From here, if you start missile strike, then it needs to start with an attack on Russian ships located in the Mediterranean Sea. But how can this be done? Even if you hang an owl on a globe “ chemical attack” to “Putin’s machinations” - still a weak reason for a preemptive strike on Russian ships. At the same time, if the USS Donald Cook sinks at the right moment, then there will be a reason for a preventive attack on the fleet immediately and as it were.

From here, based on the above, we would, in place of the Russian Defense Ministry, send some kind of plane or helicopter to the American destroyer - with doctors, rescuers and dog handlers. We should keep an eye on the American guys so that they don’t accidentally do something bad to themselves.

We are monitoring developments.

There are many unclear points in this story. The American side does not want to disclose details. The command of Russian naval aviation has also modestly remained silent after a brief information message broadcast on Cosmonautics Day 2014. However, the meager data was enough to American destroyer"Donald Cook" became famous throughout the world. This ship is quite new, equipped with everything necessary, and despite the fact that its size is not record-breaking, it could symbolize the naval power of the United States, for which it was sent to the Black Sea. As circus workers say in such cases, the act was not a success.

Exciting plot

In April, a drama began to unfold near the Russian borders, which was called an anti-terrorist operation, but in fact it became real civil war. After a successful coup against the rebels eastern regions the new Ukrainian authorities sent regular troops with artillery, tanks, tactical ballistic missiles and all other weapons originally manufactured to fight a strong and dangerous external aggressor. Crimea managed to avoid the sad fate of the victim; the population of the peninsula voted for independence and annexation to Russia.

In the midst of this seething turmoil, accompanied by bloodshed, the US destroyer Donald Cook entered the Black Sea. One can only guess about the true purpose of this visit, but certain conclusions can be reached by understanding the combat capabilities of this ship.

The Arleigh Burke series and its 25th copy

Americans have their own national heroes, and they name this or that cruiser, frigate or destroyer after them. Donald Cook, a corps captain, fought in Vietnam and died of an illness (malaria) while in captivity. Even in the homeland of this hero there is no consensus on how fair this war was. The feats, if any, performed by Cook before his capture are also unknown. However, is it really that important? The captain fought for his country where he was sent and died in 1967. The 25th unit of the most massive post-war series of American warships was named in his honor. In total, it is assumed that the number of twins of this destroyer will exceed 60.

The Arleigh Burke project seemed so successful to the Pentagon leadership that they were entrusted with big hopes. In 1983, when the lead ship of the series was laid down, it impressed with its lines, the technologies used during construction, and even its appearance.

Surface-to-shore destroyer

Any naval series consists of ships that are similar in appearance, differing from each other the more, the later this or that unit came off the stocks. The destroyer Donald Cook was launched in 1997 and accepted into service in the fleet 15 months later. This ship cannot be called obsolete; it has a powerful missile weapons, equipped with the most advanced electronic means, protected from a variety of possible damaging factors and is almost invisible on radar. However, the destroyer has some features due to the nature of its specific fire capabilities. The fact is that its onboard anti-ship systems are presented very modestly. Four Harpoon-type cruise missiles (subsonic and small) are clearly not enough to conduct a serious naval battle against a strong enemy. In other words, the US Navy destroyer Donald Cook is designed to strike coastal targets in conditions of complete dominance and lack of resistance from the enemy fleet. For this, he has “Tomahawks” (according to the number of cells under the deck of the Kyrgyz Republic, there can be up to 90 pieces).

About the Aegis system

But this ship, which cost the military budget a billion (at prices of the second half of the 90s), was created not only for shooting at cities and coastal positions. The main share of this astronomical sum comes from the latest electronics integrated into the design of the hull and superstructures. The multi-faceted angular cabin not only serves as cladding for the premises, but also inclined planes antennas for radar signal emitters and receivers were installed. They closely monitor hundreds of possible targets, and, by transmitting information to the computer control complex, ensure the safe execution of the combat mission. The Aegis system controls fifty anti-aircraft missiles capable of hitting ICBMs in near space. The American destroyer Donald Cook, according to the plan, is a mobile element of the global missile defense system, conducting reconnaissance and automatically, like a robot, developing strategic-level decisions.

In addition to the fixed antennas relative to the hull, the ship also has another AN/SPY-1 radar, which performs many functions, from detecting low-flying objects to monitoring spy satellites.

Destroyer as a ship

It makes sense to dwell on the question of what the US Navy destroyer Donald Cook is in a navigable sense. The ship's characteristics are not unique, but they are good. With a total displacement of 8.9 thousand tons, it has a length of 153 meters, a width of 20 m and a draft of 9.4 m. For the manufacture of the underwater part of the hull, non-magnetic high-strength magnesium-aluminum alloys are used, which increases anti-torpedo resistance and reduces visibility for enemy systems detection. The power unit, loaded on two propellers, consists of two LM2500-30 gas turbines from General Electric with a total capacity of 108 thousand liters. With. Maximum speed - 32 knots, endurance 4400 miles (with a cruising speed of 20 knots). The crew consists of 337 crew members, of which 23 are officers. The cockpits and combat stations are protected by durable and lightweight Kevlar panels, which was also a revolutionary solution.

The screws deserve special admiration. These propulsors, as a rule, give away the ship with their noise generated as a result of cavitation processes, and the acoustic stations of submarines can easily determine the type of moving object, its speed and distance to it. Each blade of the Cook propellers is equipped with a special tubular system that forces air to the ends of the edges. As a result, a bubble cloud is formed, distorting the sound “portrait” of the ship and absorbing noise. How justified are the funds spent on the development and production of this complex system, is unknown, because the destroyer can be detected by many other means of warning.

VET and air defense system

A ship at sea faces many troubles. In the event of war, the enemy shows a persistent desire to sink him, and does everything he can to achieve this. He lays mines, sometimes equipped with multiplicity devices (if it is known which count the enemy's most important ship will follow), they are equipped with fuses of various types. In addition, torpedoes, missiles, and, of course, aircraft are used. At the Bath Iron Works shipyards, they took care to protect the US Navy destroyer Donald Cook from all these misfortunes. Its armament includes ASROC-VL anti-submarine missile-torpedoes, anti-aircraft missiles“Stenderd-2” for intercepting targets at long distances, ESSM anti-aircraft missiles that attack a sneaking enemy, and even SM-3 transatmospheric interceptors.

Filling the gap in the anti-ship class, the designers plan to equip the ship with the promising LRASM complex. In general, there are a lot of weapons. But it turned out to be useless even during a training raid of the not-so-modern Su-24 bomber. The destroyer Donald Cook went blind.

Combat path and experience

Since its launch, the ship has not been idle. First based in Norfolk, since 2012 it has been assigned to the Spanish port of Rota, where the US Navy base is located. In 2000, during the events in Aden, the destroyer Donald Cook assisted another ship, the Cole, which was rammed by a boat carrying suicide bombers. The first salvo of Tomahawks against Iraq in 2003 was fired by the same Cook. He went on many long voyages, sailed the seas all over the world, and participated in exercises, including international ones. The ship's crew demonstrated good training and coordination, high qualifications and a certain courage shown during the execution of tasks.

Chronicle of events

Frugal facts describe the chronology of the entire period the destroyer was in the Black Sea in 2014. The ship passed the Bosphorus on April 10, the Day of the German-Romanian invaders. For about two days, the formation, which, in addition to the Cook, included the naval reconnaissance ship Dupuis de Lom, the rescuer Alize and the destroyer Duplex of the French Navy, performed various maneuvers at a relatively short distance from Sevastopol. On April 12, an approaching plane appeared on the radar screens, heading directly for the Donald Cook. The destroyer "Su" noticed (even determined the type of aircraft and the fact that it was not armed), and the ship announced combat training alert. Further events remained a mystery for some time.

Escape

Pentagon officials expressed extreme outrage at the actions of the Russian pilots. They characterized them as unprofessional and hostile. The statement was emotional and tough, but confusion was visible between its lines. The suddenly famous destroyer Donald Cook, whose photo was published with mocking comments by many media outlets around the world, moored in the Romanian port of Constanta, and 27 demoralized members of its crew expressed a desire to resign. The culprit is a Russian plane that allegedly violated every conceivable norm of international law.

Montreux Convention

One of the international maritime treaties referred to by the American side is called According to it, warships of countries that do not have their own waters here can stay in the Black Sea for no more than 21 days, and their total tonnage cannot exceed 30 thousand tons for each country. The destroyer Donald Cook really did not violate this convention, but shortly before the events described, another US Navy ship, the Taylor, was somewhat delayed, allegedly repairing the propellers. The purpose of Cook’s last visit was clearly to “demonstrate the flag,” but besides this, the crew was most likely assigned another, secret task.

What if there is a war?

The connection between the presence of an international squadron near the Russian coast and the Ukrainian events, in general, was not disputed or denied by anyone. As the conflict developed, the danger of its transition to a military stage increased. Without having any illusions about the possibilities, the American side could consider the possibility of providing them with assistance in the form of intelligence information without involving its army in a possible full-scale war. The US Navy destroyer Donald Cook was probably going to collect such information. Options defensive systems, deployment of air defense systems, communication centers and other important elements military structure The Black Sea Fleet could be of interest to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, to which this information would be immediately transferred in the event of war.

So what happened?

In essence, nothing terrible happened to the American destroyer. He safely left the inhospitable area of ​​the Black Sea. The planned visit to Odessa did not take place due to the deep moral trauma experienced by the crew. The reason for this annoyance is the compact complex electronic warfare“Khibiny”, mounted on the console of an unarmed Su-24 bomber, which passed over the ship a dozen times at an extremely low altitude. Apparently, it was his belly with oil stains that upset the Cook team so much as the awareness of their vulnerability and even helplessness. It would seem that this is a potential enemy, and he is acting in training mode. So learn, practice techniques for using your air defense! But the system failed. Temporarily. The Russians didn’t even spoil anything, although they could have. The plane took off and the Aegis started up again.

Results and conclusions

The essence of the Pentagon's claims to Russian aviation, in general, boiled down to the fact that our pilots showed some kind of discourtesy. Well, perhaps a certain intolerance did occur. Equally impolitely, in 1988, Soviet sailors rammed the US Navy destroyer Caron, which was trying to enter territorial waters THE USSR. Crimea, indeed, has long attracted foreign squadrons who strive to visit the peninsula, not always with friendly intentions.

As for the destroyer Donald Cook, underestimate it combat capabilities still not worth it. This is a modern and seriously armed ship, which underwent modernization in 2012. It is quite possible that he will now have another one.

A new ritual for welcoming uninvited guests is multiple flights by a Russian Air Force combat aircraft. A polite reminder of who is boss on the Black Sea. Next time another polite plane will come with polite missiles. The Black Sea is the Russian sea. For centuries!

"The Su-24 bomber flew several times in close proximity to the US Navy destroyer Donald Cook, which entered the waters of the Black Sea on April 12. This is reported by Reuters with reference to Pentagon press secretary Colonel Steve Warren. According to him, the plane is at low altitude made 12 passes over the Donald Cook while it was in the northern part of the Black Sea."

Due to the keen public interest in the topic of the Navy and, in particular, in the incident with the overflight of an American destroyer, I offer a detailed overview of the current situation with a description of the capabilities of both sides. What threat could a bomber and a destroyer pose to each other? What is this “Cook” capable of, and why is its appearance near the very shores of Russia dangerous?

USS Donald Cook (DDG-75)

The Aegis guided missile destroyer is the 25th ship of the "class" Orly Burke" Belongs to the obsolete "sub-series II". Laying date - 1996, launching - 1997, acceptance into the fleet - 1998. Currently assigned to the Rota naval base (Mediterranean coast of Spain).

The ship is small - 154 meters in length, with a total displacement of about 9,000 tons. The regular crew is 280 people. The cost of the destroyer is a billion dollars in 1996 prices.

Cook is famous for being the first to launch a missile into Iraq on a March night in 2003.

He really has a lot of missiles. 90 below-deck cells of the UVP Mk.41, each of which can contain a tactical Tomahawk cruise missile, an ASROC-VL anti-submarine missile torpedo, a long-range anti-aircraft missile "Stenderd-2", a short-range ESSM missile defense system (4 in one cell) or a transatmospheric interceptor SM-3 American missile defense system. It is possible to use outdated SeaSparrow self-defense missiles. By the end of this decade, LRASM anti-ship munitions are expected to appear in launch cells.

Thus, a modest destroyer is capable of carrying the entire spectrum missile weapons, in service with the US Navy (except ballistic missiles underwater based). The number and type of missiles can vary in any proportion, increasing the number of strike or defensive weapons. The composition of the ammunition load is determined by the current task.

This is an extremely powerful and versatile ship, whose strike capabilities exceed those of any cruisers and destroyers of other countries. Even those who are much larger in size than “Cook”. There are no analogues to this ship in the Russian Navy yet.

However, do not overestimate the American destroyer. Its strike capabilities are great, but limited to the only format of combat operations “fleet versus shore.” High-precision Tomahawk SLCMs are good for striking the most important objects military and civilian infrastructure deep in enemy territory, but can do nothing to help the destroyer in naval battle(the anti-ship version of the Tomahawk BGM-109B TASM was withdrawn from service 10 years ago). Until the advent of promising LRASM, the only anti-ship weapons of the Cook destroyer to date remain 4 small-sized subsonic anti-ship missiles "Harpoon", located in the stern of the ship.

"Donald Cook" and the British integrated supply ship RFA Wave Ruler

And yet, super-destroyers like the Orly Burke were not created to launch Tomahawks in response to those who disagree with the White House policy. The main “feature” of these ships has always been “Aegis” (“Aegis”) - a combat information and control system that connected all the means of detection, communication, fire control and combat for the survivability of the ship into a single information space. In fact, the destroyer Donald Cook is a naval combat robot capable of making decisions and exchanging information with other ships similar to it without any participation of living people.

Such an intelligent and fast-acting system was created to solve one, most important and responsible task - ensuring effective air defense connections. Powerful air defense platforms for guarding aircraft carriers and escorting convoys on the high seas.

The Aegis always comes with the AN/SPY-1 multifunctional radar. A masterpiece of the US electronics industry, capable of detecting missiles flying over water and observing satellites in low-Earth orbits. This is the problem with SPY-1 - it turned out to be impossible to effectively solve such different problems using one radar. And if there are no problems with detecting spacecraft, then the capabilities of Aegis destroyers to repel attacks by anti-ship missiles look frankly doubtful.

The Aegis + SPY-1 combination looked like a very innovative solution for 1983, but by now this system is completely outdated. We can name at least five modern naval systems that are superior to Aegis in solving air defense problems.

As a result, the super-destroyer Cook (like any of its 62 twins) was unable to perform the first of its tasks.

And the only terrible trophy of the Aegis system in all 30 years of its operation was an IranAir passenger airliner, which the BIUS mistakenly identified as an F-14 fighter.

Having such an “outstanding” air defense system, American Aegis destroyers are unlikely to enter the Black Sea at all. Where the entire water area is under fire from coastal missile systems and coastal aviation, capable of “slamming” an American can with one blow. A lone American ship is not serious.

A major drawback of the Cook destroyer, like all representatives of the I-II subseries, is the inability to permanently station a helicopter. The ship has only a stern landing pad and a limited supply of aviation fuel. The absence of a helicopter reduces the destroyer's anti-submarine capabilities and limits its functionality.

Was there an explosion on board the destroyer?
Alas, just a rocket launch from the stern UVP

Motorists

"Kuk" passes the Bosphorus

Surely many regretted that the flight over the destroyer was not carried out by the snow-white Tu-22M missile carrier or the newest Su-34 bomber, but only by the modest 24th “Sukharik”. A front-line bomber with a variable-sweep wing, adopted for service in the distant 70s. However, even this was more than enough. The Pentagon press service burst out with angry accusations of provocation and “unprofessional actions” by Russian pilots. The Russian public also reacted with a flurry of mocking and humorous reviews in the style of “Yankee, go home!”

On Saturday, the fighter jet came within a thousand yards (about a kilometer) of the destroyer at an altitude of about 500 feet (150 meters). The fighter had no weapons. The ship's commander issued several warnings via radio. The maneuvers were completed without any incident.

In general, it is worth recognizing that this episode makes no sense from a military point of view. The Su-24 is not a German Stuka dive bomber. There is no need for him to get within a thousand yards of his target. Outside the window is the 21st century. era precision weapons. The main method of warfare has become remote warfare, in which the weapons operator does not see the enemy in person.

Approaching an enemy warship in Peaceful time also does not provide any reasons for discussing the current situation. The incident occurred in neutral waters, where everyone is free to be where they please. Another thing is that the American destroyer arrived in the Black Sea - the sphere of Russia's primordial interests, where the appearance of strangers is not welcomed and is even specifically limited by the Montreux Convention.

The Russian bomber "passed" past the American ship at low level 12 times. And this is also a sign.

The only countermeasure that could be used by an Aegis destroyer was to shoot down the aircraft. Like the Iranian airliner mentioned in 1988. Of course, it was categorically impossible to do such a thing in this situation - I had to endure ridicule and, as if nothing had happened, take refuge in the territorial waters of Romania.

It is useless to look for any meaning in the actions of the Su-24 crew from a military point of view. “Combat sortie”, “attack rehearsal”, “Su-24 revealed the position of an enemy ship” - this is not about him. Combat sorties are carried out according to a different scheme - detection with longest range, missile launch and immediate departure to low altitude, beyond the ship's radio horizon. Where the SPY-1 radar will not see it. In combat conditions, “going with your chest” at Aegis missiles is a beautiful, but not the most prudent thing to do

The twelve-fold flyby of the Donald Cook was purely for demonstrative purposes. To moderate the belligerent ardor of the Pentagon, which has already sent its fifth warship in a year to the region, apparently believing that the Black Sea has the right to be called the African-American Sea. The Russian side needed to demonstrate its determination. Show the whole world that we are closely monitoring the development of the situation in the Black Sea and, if necessary... However, our “partners” understood everything and retreated.

If necessary, even the Su-24, which is not particularly suitable for striking ships, has a lot of worthy “answers” ​​for the adversary. Of particular interest are the X-59 remote-controlled air-to-surface missiles and the X-58A missiles, which are aimed at the radiation of ship radars (flight speed - Mach 3.6).

Photo by Reuters

Yesterday details of the incident in the Baltic Sea became known. According to the Pentagon, supported by photo and video materials, Russian Su-24 bombers, in company with a Ka-27 deck helicopter, over the course of two days, dangerously maneuvering at extremely low altitudes and periodically simulating attacks, flew over the American destroyer Donald Cook, taking part in maneuvers together with Polish Naval forces. The European command has already expressed deep concern about the “unprofessional maneuvers of Russian aircraft.” The White House also expressed concern about the incident. It is noted that attempts to contact the pilots in English and Russian were unsuccessful.

But the Russian Ministry of Defense responded promptly. The official representative of the military department, Major General Igor Konashenkov, made it clear that he was very surprised by the “painful reaction of his American colleagues.” According to him, when flying around an American destroyer located in neutral waters, the crews of Russian bombers acted with the utmost caution. “Having discovered the ship in the visual visibility zone,” the general specified, “the pilots turned away from it in compliance with all safety measures.”

In general, between two great nuclear powers another exchange of pleasantries took place, characteristic of the onset of the ice age cold war. But objectively speaking, ours flew around the Donald Cook really dashingly, while the flight altitude was no more than 30 m. Once the Su-24 even passed below the ship’s superstructures - so much so that there was excitement from the jet streams, says an American observer.

With the arrival of Sergei Shoigu in the Ministry of Defense, Russian aviation finally began to take to the air regularly, and after the annexation of Crimea - no matter how one treated this historical episode! – some state will has also emerged. By the way, the destroyer Donald Cook already had the opportunity to feel it on its metal skin.

IN Soviet times The American fleet very rarely - all cases can be counted on one hand - decided to look into the Black Sea. But with the advent of independent Ukraine, he completely stopped crawling out of these waters, which were very significant in a defense sense for Russia. Firstly, there are more legal grounds for permanent presence. Secondly, it was believed that Moscow did not have military arguments to seriously object.

At least the crew is still the same destroyer"Donald Cook", which appeared exactly two years ago (April 10, 2014) in the neutral waters of the Black Sea, felt like the master of the situation. The latest Aegis combat information and control system, which allows simultaneous tracking of hundreds of targets, and almost a hundred Tomahawk cruise missiles in nuclear and conventional equipment, with a launch range of up to 2500 km - this was, of course, the strongest argument. Therefore, the appearance of an unarmed Su-24 did not make much of an impression at first. But exactly until the moment when the bomber’s crew turned on the Khibiny electronic warfare system: “Donald Cook” immediately became blind and deaf - in other words, turned into a piece of floating iron with which anything could be done. And the Su-24 simulated 12 attacks and went on a reverse course.

As it later became known, as a result of the meeting with the Russian Su-24, the entire crew of the Donald Cook was demoralized, and 27 American sailors immediately wrote reports for dismissal from the fleet. Naturally, from the banks of the Potomac, Russia was immediately accused of “violating its own traditions and international treaties" But here’s what’s remarkable: before, the Americans did not react at all to all the urgent requests from Moscow “not to turn the Black Sea into another NATO training ground,” but for some reason the Khibiny had an immediate effect...

But the lessons, apparently, also need to be reinforced. In response to protests from the American side in connection with the latest incident in the Baltic, General Igor Konashenkov noted that the US Navy destroyer Donald Cook was, although in neutral waters, still 70 km from the main naval base Baltic Fleet(Baltiysk) - that is, at the range of use of airborne weapons. And with a huge reserve. So our reaction was not so unreasonable. In addition, “the principle of freedom of navigation of a US destroyer does not at all negate the principle of freedom of air navigation of Russian aircraft,” noted official representative Russian Ministry of Defense.

By the way, quite recently, in the same area, over the Baltic, our Su-27 had to drive away NATO fighters that had attached themselves to Sergei Shoigu’s plane, on board which was one of the nuclear buttons assigned to the Minister of Defense by his position. Then everything worked out. Still, it is better for military personnel to stay away from each other. Nothing good is expected from international contacts using ships and military aircraft.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will personally discuss with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov the situation with the Su-24 flying near a US Navy destroyer in the Baltic Sea.

In this regard, the official representative of the US State Department, John Kirby, explained that “the Secretary of State was notified of these flights, the incident over the US Navy ship Donald Cook, and saw the footage and messages. In his opinion, they (the flights) are unprofessional, almost provocative and undoubtedly dangerous.” .

The Americans, of course, have already stated that the behavior of Russian aviation was reckless and provocative. Let us recall that Russian Su-24 front-line bombers several times allegedly “came dangerously close” to the US destroyer USS Donald Cook.

The latest incident took place in the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, where a US warship was conducting exercises with other NATO members. For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense noted that this situation did not pose any threat. Moscow does not understand the reason for such a painful reaction from the United States, since the flights are carried out in accordance with international rules.

A little history: On February 12, 1988, the American cruiser Yorktown and the destroyer Caron violated the border of the USSR, invading 7 miles into territorial waters. In connection with this, the patrol ships of the Black Sea Fleet "Bezzavetny" and SKR-6 went to ram the intruders. According to experts, this was a typical show of force - the United States practices this everywhere it appears. But even during the US-USSR confrontation, it became clear that the Americans were good sailors, but psychologically weaker. As a rule, dying for their homeland is not part of their plans.

Hence such a painful reaction to any kind of rebuff - for many years the US military has become accustomed to doing exclusively what they need, regardless of the interests of others. Let us recall that back on July 18, an American reconnaissance plane “flew more than 200 kilometers inside Swedish airspace, moving away from Russian fighter"At the same time, the Swedes, subordinate to the United States, "tried to hide the information," but the press found out about it.

There is also a known case when US Air Force aircraft violated the borders of Finnish airspace. But God forbid anyone touches the true or imaginary interests of the United States - the question is immediately posed bluntly.

Although the Americans themselves understand that “Russia operates its flights in accordance with international law.” This was stated by the head of the US Northern Command, Admiral William Gortney.

This statement was made due to the fact that in Lately The Russian Air Force resumed flights over neutral territories, including in Europe, as well as near the borders of the United States and Canada. The latter reacted extremely nervously and accused Russia of escalating tension.

According to Gortney, "We watch very closely what they do... Russian pilots adhere to all international standards that apply to any aircraft that fly over neutral territory. They fly in a professional manner, and so do we, because we monitor very close to them."

Former NATO General Harald Kujat, in an interview with the German portal Web.de, also admitted that “Russia did not violate the borders of any states with its “military maneuvers.” Unlike the United States, from 1981 to 1983, American bombers “patrolled in the direction of Soviet airspace” several times a week, turning away only at the last moment before violating the state border. The United States itself declassified many operations of this kind. But what is allowed to Jupiter...

The Russian Ministry of Defense has already issued a statement that the Su-24 flight was carried out in accordance with all international standards. “All flights of Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft are carried out in accordance with international standards,” said the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov. “The pilots turned away from the ship in compliance with all safety measures.”

“I am rather inclined to agree with the explanations that were provided by representatives of the Ministry of Defense,” added the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, in turn.

It is worth noting that the exchange of pleasantries with “Donald Cook” does not indicate any particular tension in the region. This is rather a common practice: this is how foreign warships are escorted in other countries.

Let us recall that in March of this year, a detachment of as many as six NATO ships entered the Black Sea and conducted exercises with Turkey and Romania. In May, the American missile destroyer Ross “looked” into the Black Sea, also to support partners - Ukraine and NATO countries. The destroyer Jason Dunham, armed with cruise missiles, also visited here with a menacing look.

And the crew of the US Navy destroyer Donald Cook, apparently, will not soon forget their previous close acquaintance with the Russian Su-24, which not only flew up 11 times to “greet” the ship, but also, incidentally, turned off the entire Aegis with which it is equipped super destroyer.

According to a senior naval officer, "NATO does not represent real threat, this is, let’s say, pressure on the Russian Federation, support for Ukraine. Those combat units that are in the water area, even if they wanted to, would not be able to cause significant damage Black Sea Fleet or the territory of Russia - moreover, in the event of aggression against Russia, their life time would be 5-10 minutes." That is, it is possible to shoot them down... But the result will obviously be tragic for everyone.