Putin orders Russia’s air force to prepare for a ‘time of war’— and NATO doesn’t stand a chance right now
Alex Lockie
BusinessInsider.com
2/9/2017
Russian President Vladimir Putin has again scrambled his jets in a snap military drill meant to prepare his air force for a “time of war.”
“In accordance with the decision by the Armed Forces Supreme Commander, a snap check of the Aerospace Forces began to evaluate readiness of the control agencies and troops to carry out combat training tasks,” said Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, according to Russia’s state-run media.
“Special attention should be paid to combat alert, deployment of air defense systems for a time of war and air groupings’ readiness to repel the aggression,” continued Shoigu.
Russian snap exercises on the border with NATO happen often, without warning, and they often come with menacing overtones. For some time now, Russia has held a numerical, qualitative, organizational, and timing advantage over NATO forces in the Baltics.
In 2014, Putin said he could take Kiev in two weeks. In 2015, a Czech general said Russia could take the Baltics in two days. The US and NATO have responded to Russia’s rising aggression steadily but slowly, most recently by stationing 80 tanks in Poland.
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