Honored pilot Popov told why the president flew on a business trip with front-line aircraft
The impressive escort of Vladimir Putin's aircraft in the UAE by Su-35S multirole fighters has already been called “a rare event in the history of military aviation and in the history of Russia.” Honored military pilot, Air Force Major General Vladimir Popov, in a conversation with MK, said that such escort was “caused by the military-political situation in the world.” The last time such air escort was organized was for Joseph Stalin, who visited Tehran in 1943.
Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
More impressive Nothing better than the meeting of our president in the United Arab Emirates was Vladimir Putin’s flight to the Middle East. Aircraft No. 1 was covered by four Su-35S multirole front-line fighters.
Armed to the teeth, the Sukhoi made a non-stop flight to the UAE, without losing ground to the long-haul Il-96-300 airliner on which the president flies.
“Of course, the escort of the plane of the first person – President Vladimir Putin – was caused by the military-political situation,” says Air Force General Vladimir Popov. “The plane passed through the territory of several countries that we designated as troubled. Therefore, there is a real physical need to ensure the safety of our president, regardless of the civil aviation safety standards that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) assumes.
According to Popov, organizing an escorted flight, especially on international routes, was very difficult.
– It was necessary to work out altitudes, agree on permission, alternate airfields, and so on. So there was full provision of everything possible with the states in whose airspace we flew.
The expert said that on such international flights, world leaders (this applies not only to our president), as a rule, use several aircraft.
– By the way, it is not always known which plane – the main one or the backup one – the first person of the state is flying in. Ground and dispatch services of different countries that provide flights do not have this information. The order of departure and accommodation of the main passenger is not communicated to anyone. And when a whole series of cars for various purposes is traveling along the highway, until landing no one knows which one the first person is in.
As for the presidential plane, it itself is seriously stuffed with various security systems:
– This is not just a machine, it is practically a flying command post that can stand up for itself if anything happens. On this flight, we additionally reinforced it with fighter escort. I think that each plane – the main one and the backup one – was equally accompanied by fighters. The accompaniment was revealing. Thus, we warned our ill-wishers not to even try to think in this direction.
The military expert said that such flights are indeed very rare, but they have already happened in the history of our country, for example, in the years Great Patriotic War.
– Stalin flew to Tehran in 1943 with such an escort. Then practically the same thing was done by our Air Force units and the aviation units of the border troops of the NKVD of the USSR. The fighters ensured Stalin's security at a very serious level, and not only over the territory of the Soviet Union, but also over the territory of Iran.
Four fighters accompanied the plane on which Yuri Gagarin flew from the cosmodrome to Vnukovo.
– But it was rather an honorary accompaniment for the astronaut. Although I do not rule out that this was done for safety reasons too.
– I assume that there was a crew change. In Iran, for example, the same group of fighters could “sit”, it – pre-refueled – would take off, and in the air would approach for an escort exchange. And the first group sat down to refuel and waited for the board to accompany it home.
– Whatever. There are still quite a lot of fools in the world. An enemy fighter can fire long-range air combat missiles, they can send, so to speak, a kamikaze pilot… Therefore, in such military-political conditions, additional security for our president is not superfluous.
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