Remember in September when the US Air Force dispatched F-15s to escort a Tu-160 Black Jack on a 13-hour flight from Russia to Caracas? (See video below.)
Many have reported that the infamous sortie demonstrated a resurgence of a re-empowered Russian Air Force.
But Secretary of Defense Bob Gates doesn't buy it. Not only did he tell the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning that "at $40 oil the Russian navy doesn't bother me very much".
He also dismissed the Tu-160's long-distance flight to Venezuela, one of America's least-favored nations at the moment.
Joked Gates: "When they complained about our escorting their Black Jack bombers I just wanted to say that we just wanted to be there for search and rescue if they needed it."
Many have reported that the infamous sortie demonstrated a resurgence of a re-empowered Russian Air Force.
But Secretary of Defense Bob Gates doesn't buy it. Not only did he tell the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning that "at $40 oil the Russian navy doesn't bother me very much".
He also dismissed the Tu-160's long-distance flight to Venezuela, one of America's least-favored nations at the moment.
Joked Gates: "When they complained about our escorting their Black Jack bombers I just wanted to say that we just wanted to be there for search and rescue if they needed it."
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