South Korea fires hundreds of warning shots at Russian military plane

By Josh Smith, Joyce Lee

 

A Russian A-50 military aircraft flies near the disputed islands called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, in this handout picture taken by Japan Air Self-Defence Force and released by the Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan July 23, 2019. Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan/HANDOUT via REUTERS

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean warplanes fired hundreds of warning shots at a Russian military aircraft that entered South Korean airspace on Tuesday, defence officials said, while Russia denied violating any airspace and accused South Korean pilots of being reckless.

 

It was the first time a Russian military aircraft had violated South Korean airspace, an official at the South Korean Ministry of National Defence said in Seoul.

 

The incident, which also involved China and Japan, could complicate relations and raise tension in a region that has for years been over-shadowed by hostility between the United States and North Korea.

 

Two Russian Tu-95 bombers and two Chinese H-6 bombers entered the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) together early on Tuesday, the South Korean defence ministry said.

 

A separate Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft later twice violated South Korean airspace over Dokdo - an island that is occupied by South Korea and also claimed by Japan, which calls it Takeshima - just after 9 a.m. (midnight GMT Monday), according to the South Korean military.

 

Russia’s defence ministry said two Tu-95 strategic bombers carried out a planned flight, but denied that they had violated South Korean airspace and said it did not recognise South Korea’s KADIZ.

 

There were no warning shots from the South Korean fighters, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement, which made no mention of any A-50 aircraft.

 

The Russian ministry said two South Korean F-16 fighter planes carried out “unprofessional manoeuvres,” crossing the path of Russian bombers and did not communicate with them.

 

“It was not for the first time that South Korean pilots tried unsuccessfully to prevent Russian aircraft from flying over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan,” the ministry said.

 

A South Korean defence ministry spokesman did not directly address the Russian accusation of reckless behaviour, but said that South Korea never said the Tu-95 bombers had violated its airspace.

 

China’s foreign ministry said South Korea’s air defence identification zone was not territorial airspace and all countries enjoyed freedom of movement in it.

 

South Korea’s top security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, lodged a strong objection with Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council of Russia, asking the council to assess the incident and take appropriate action, South Korea’s presidential office said.

 

“We take a very grave view of this situation and, if it is repeated, we will take even stronger action,” Chung said, according to South Korea’s presidential office.

 

‘TACTICAL ACTION’

 

South Korea’s foreign ministry summoned Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Maxim Volkov and Chinese Ambassador Qiu Guohong to lodge a stern protest and strongly urge them to prevent a recurrence, said ministry spokesman Kim In-chul.

 

Separately, Japan lodged a complaint with both South Korea and Russia over the incident, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

 

“In light of Japan’s stance regarding sovereignty over Takeshima, the South Korean military aircraft’s having carried out warning shots is totally unacceptable and extremely regrettable,” Suga told reporters in Tokyo.

 

South Korea scrambled F-15 and F-16 fighter jets in response to the intrusions.

 

The South Korean jets fired about 360 rounds of ammunition during the incident, an official at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

 

“The South Korean military took tactical action including dropping flares and firing warning shots,” the defence ministry said.

 

A South Korean defence official told Reuters that the Russian aircraft did not respond in any threatening way.

 

The Russian aircraft left South Korean airspace but then entered it again about 20 minutes later, prompting the South Koreans to fire more warning shots.

 

The ministry said South Korean warplanes “conducted a normal response” to the incursion, without giving further details.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-07-23

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10 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

A separate Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft later twice violated South Korean airspace over Dokdo

The A50 has a feature that would make a great target and show the Russians SK means business without shooting down the whole aircraft.

They should ahve done a Turkey, shot it down.

8 hours ago, Thongkorn said:

They should ahve done a Turkey, shot it down.

 

That episode ended in Turkey being brought to heel, though.

2 hours ago, Morch said:

 

That episode ended in Turkey being brought to heel, though.

The Ivan’s are selling them s-400’s, must not have bothered them much

2 hours ago, Morch said:

 

That episode ended in Turkey being brought to heel, though.

That made them best friends

I am confused. Korea says 2 Russian and 2 Chinese bombers entered its airspace and were fired upon but missed?360 shots and still

missed? But then Korea says Russian aircraft did not respond in any threatening way, so why shoot 360 rounds ?

 

Then defence ministry stated Russian bombers never entered Korean airspace?

 

 

13 minutes ago, WebGuy said:

That made them best friends

Far from it but made Turkey spend billions on Russian arms over American 

I suppose warning shots are not supposed to hit anything....but 360 misses??  The Russian version sounds more plausible. The SK planes fired some flares and left.  

......and missed. A warning shot, to me, is at least one bullet hitting something. Now THAT brings attention. Missing 360 times ain't threatening enough.

2 lonely planets desperately team up for revenge !!!! 

2 hours ago, Ireland32 said:

The Ivan’s are selling them s-400’s, must not have bothered them much

 

In exchange for NATO member Turkey supporting Vlad's middle East ambitions.

 

And what NATO information should we now trust Turkey with?

 

Turkey has a very very large military. So does China and Russia.  The US has to rely on NATO allies. Even the UK and France only have tiny military forces. Some like Germany have never bothered meeting their spend requirements. All rely on the US. 

 

See where this might go?

1 hour ago, Somtamnication said:

......and missed. A warning shot, to me, is at least one bullet hitting something. Now THAT brings attention. Missing 360 times ain't threatening enough.

 

Were you an American law enforcement officer in a southern state by chance?

2 hours ago, BestB said:

I am confused. Korea says 2 Russian and 2 Chinese bombers entered its airspace and were fired upon but missed?360 shots and still

missed?

No, Korea didn't say anywhere in the report that they missed, they said they fired warning shots.

 

"South Korean warplanes fired hundreds of warning shots"

 

Perhaps you're confused because you don't understand what a warning shot is?

3 hours ago, BestB said:

I am confused. Korea says 2 Russian and 2 Chinese bombers entered its airspace and were fired upon but missed?360 shots and still

missed?

Maybe S. Korea is flying the F-35? 

18 minutes ago, nahkit said:

No, Korea didn't say anywhere in the report that they missed, they said they fired warning shots.

 

"South Korean warplanes fired hundreds of warning shots"

 

Perhaps you're confused because you don't understand what a warning shot is?

Well when you fire 360 shots you sure   “Missed” 

 

3 warning shots I can understand , even 10, most certainly not 360

26 minutes ago, BestB said:

Well when you fire 360 shots you sure   “Missed” 

 

3 warning shots I can understand , even 10, most certainly not 360

At about 50 rounds per burst a couple of SK fighters could easily release 360 rounds... 7 bursts.

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Were you an American law enforcement officer in a southern state by chance?

In some areas out there a warning shot seems to be between the eyes. ????????

37 minutes ago, BestB said:

Well when you fire 360 shots you sure   “Missed” 

 

3 warning shots I can understand , even 10, most certainly not 360

The SK fighters use the M61A1 cannon which can fire 6,000 rounds per minute, so that's 100 rounds per second. Two planes fired rounds so that works out at a less than a 2 second burst each.

"They" called them "warning shots" only because they missed the target ????

 

3 hours ago, nahkit said:

The SK fighters use the M61A1 cannon which can fire 6,000 rounds per minute, so that's 100 rounds per second. Two planes fired rounds so that works out at a less than a 2 second burst each.

In which case there is nothing “warning” about it 

33 minutes ago, BestB said:

In which case there is nothing “warning” about it 

Huh? Fat Boy was a "warning shot" what the he** r u guys on about?

4 minutes ago, mikebike said:

Huh? Fat Boy was a "warning shot" what the he** r u guys on about?

"Fat Boy" was hardly a "warning shot". 

9 hours ago, Ireland32 said:

The Ivan’s are selling them s-400’s, must not have bothered them much

 

9 hours ago, WebGuy said:

That made them best friends

 

Call it what you like, but at the end of the day, Erdogan ate his fiery "we'll-never" etc. words and played nice. Putin got a quite a bit, diplomatically, out of the incident.

9 hours ago, BestB said:

I am confused. Korea says 2 Russian and 2 Chinese bombers entered its airspace and were fired upon but missed?360 shots and still

missed? But then Korea says Russian aircraft did not respond in any threatening way, so why shoot 360 rounds ?

 

Then defence ministry stated Russian bombers never entered Korean airspace?

 

 

 

These were warning shots. If they meant to shot down the aircraft they'd launch missiles. So not much to do with "missing". On top of that fighter aircraft fire these at hyper rates, so 360 would be like 2 maybe 3 bursts of 1-2 seconds. Again, goes to show no intention of shooting them down. As far as I'm aware you can't shoot these things on single mode, and doubt it would be noticed either.

I think the russans and Chinese are trying to rattle Donald or the s Koreans are lousy shots lol anyway I’m glad nobody got killed

2 hours ago, Morch said:

 

These were warning shots. If they meant to shot down the aircraft they'd launch missiles. So not much to do with "missing". On top of that fighter aircraft fire these at hyper rates, so 360 would be like 2 maybe 3 bursts of 1-2 seconds. Again, goes to show no intention of shooting them down. As far as I'm aware you can't shoot these things on single mode, and doubt it would be noticed either.

that is only part of my post, Korea fired warning shots but Korea also said 2 jets never entered its airspace, so what and why were they shooting?

9 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

The US has to rely on NATO allies.

Really ?  I doubt that completely, none of them are on our side. Americans on the street expect we'll have to go it alone, don't count on NATO or other nations to help us with any heavy lifting.

 

 

I think the Russans and Chinese were trying to calibrate their A-50, new radar and electronics, etc...   Maybe even a demo to sell A-50 to the Chinese.

Nothing to see here the Russians have denied it in a major surprise????