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'Overstretched' Russian air force suffers three jet crashes in five days
[Newsweek] A Russian air force TU-95s "Bear" bomber has ignited while on a practice flight, in the third crash of a Russian jet in the last five days, prompting concern that the Kremlin might be overexerting the armed forces to display military might.

In the past year, Russia has increased the number of armed forces drills and practises in response to worsening diplomatic relations with the West over the war in Ukraine. Its air force has dramatically increased the number of unannounced patrol flights near European territory, as states such as the Baltics and Great Britain have been repeatedly forced to escort Russian jets away from their airspace.

Now the same model of jet which Russia flew off the coast of Bournemouth in January, prompting an RAF scramble, has skidded off a runway at a military practice base in Russia's Siberian Amurskaya region after a fire ignited in its engine during training flights, Russian news agency Interfax reported last night. The TU-95s which was involved in the accident flew without missiles on board.
Related TASS article.
Posted by: Besoeker 2015-06-10
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=420081