• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

U.S. Air Force Shows Off Bombers at Once-Secret Russian Base

Posted on: Thursday, 18 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

ZHUKOVSKY, Russia The U.S. Air Force brought its powerful B-1B strategic bomber to the Moscow International Air Show being held Wednesday at a once-secret Soviet-era air base.

Boeing Co. and its European rival Airbus SAS, meanwhile, mapped out plans for new cooperation with Russia's cash-hungry aircraft industry at the Zhukovsky airfield, where more than 600 companies from 40 nations gathered. The six-day show ends Sunday.

"Our mission is to represent the U.S. military," Air Force Col. Scott Nielson, who led the American team, told The Associated Press. "We brought a representative sample of our aircraft. And we are also here to build some relationships that help in international cooperation."

The B-1B is a long-range bomber operating from bases in South Dakota and Texas. The Air Force currently has more than 65 in the fleet.

The Air Force also brought F-15 and F-16 fighter jets to the biannual show, along with two tanker aircraft.

Facing the American fighters on the tarmac of what was once one of the nation's most tightly guarded facilities were an assortment of Russian fighter jets, bombers and helicopter gunships. For years, those aircraft were hidden away in huge hangars and test-flown only in between flyovers by U.S. spy satellites.

"It probably was the most important test base for years, for decades in Russia, so that gives us a thrill," Nielson said.

The show was first held in 1992 largely to show off Russia's aviation achievements and lure foreign buyers vital to the domestic industry's survival after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 taking with it the state's lucrative military orders.

Despite a government pledge to sweeten incentives for leasing Russian-made aircraft, the lease terms remain too expensive, and Russian carriers have opted to lease Boeing or Airbus planes.

Chicago-based Boeing Co. opened a research center in Moscow in 1993 that now employs more than 1,000 aviation engineers. It also buys Russian titanium and other products and is working with Russia's Sukhoi company to develop a new short-range airliner.

Source: Columbian

More News in this Category