Source: Norwaypost

Norway protests against Russian military exercise

Norway's ambassador in Moscow has delvered a protest against a Russian military exercise that prevented Norwegian helicopters from reaching oil installations in the North Sea.

Norway underlines that Russia did nothing illegal, but says it is unfortunate that the sea/air exercise was held so close to the Norwegian oil installations that it interferred with the helicopter transport of workers to and from the platforms.

It was the Norwegian Civil Aviation Control (AVINOR) that decided to stop the helicopters from flying.

Might just shoot one down eh?

Sounds weak to me if they needed to fly oil workers out then just do it what's Russia going do shoot down oil workers. To play if safe and only for playing it safe give a little a radio call/warning that inbound choppers are going to work. Please don't shoot them down thanks and have a nice day. Did the Russian lock them up with a targeting radar or something I don't understand? Stop slacking and get back to work.

The radar used in the civilian helicopters do not detect jets of this kind, and the Russian air traffic in the area was so intense that the civilian air administration center decided to close the airspace for civilian traffic due to the oil workers safety.

Sounds like a typical "game" to me, testing the boundaries of how far they can push the Norwegians.

Pilots Say Russian Exercises a Risk

By SLOBODAN LEKIC – 1 day ago
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Air operations by a Russian naval task force sailing from the North Atlantic to the Mediterranean represent a potential threat to the safety of civilian flights in the area, an international pilots' group warned Friday.
The squadron consisting of the carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and two Udaloy-class destroyers represents the most ambitious Russian naval deployment since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. During its three-month tour, it is due to be joined in the Mediterranean by units of Russia's Black Sea fleet.
When it sailed across the North Sea last week, the Kuznetsov conducted air operations close to Norway's Gullfaks offshore oil field "without communication with any air traffic or other agency," said a statement issued by The International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations to its members.
It warned civilian pilots that similar operations below 10,000 feet could occur anywhere along the fleet's route "without prior notification." They could also result in communications loss due to interference from military transmissions, the group said.
A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Oslo said Norway had notified Moscow about the potential threat to civilian helicopters serving the offshore oil platforms. The Russians replied they would curtail the flights — all of which were over international waters — and the task force moved away from the oilfields, ministry spokesman Bjorn Svenungsen said.



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