A pilot looks up from a U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter as it prepares to refuel in mid-air with a KC-135 refuelling plane over European airspace during a flight to Britain from Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Romania April 25, 2016.
MIHAIL
KOGALNICEANU AIR BASE, Romania (Reuters) - For the squadron of U.S.
fighter pilots standing on the runway of an air base in Romania, the
mission is clear: show that the United States is ready to flex its
military muscles if needed, and don't provoke the Russians.
Two
advanced F-22 U.S. fighters flew to the base on the Black Sea on Monday
for the first time since Washington beefed up military support for
NATO's eastern European allies, who say they are under pressure from an
increasingly aggressive Russia.
The
men behind the exercise, taking smartphone pictures of their planes and
handing out badges and uniform patches to local Romanian crews, know
their job is not to lock horns with President Vladimir Putin's pilots,
but to keep their NATO friends happy.
"We're
not here to provoke anybody, we're here to work with our allies," says
Dan Barina, a 26-year-old pilot on his first trip to a region where
tensions have risen markedly since Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula
from Romania's neighbor Ukraine two years ago.
But they also know that the risks of operating in the region are real.
This
month, two Russian warplanes flew simulated close-quarters attack
passes near a U.S. guided missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea.
"I
guess you can watch the video and see for yourself how those intercepts
are," said Dan Naim, another F-22 pilot, smiling wryly as he chewed
cinnamon-flavored gum on board a refueling plane accompanying the
fighters.
"If you want to intercept people over international waters, we just want to encourage them to do that in a safe way."
Knowing
that their opponents may want to engage in a high-stakes mid-air
staring contest with the West, how would the pilots handle an airborne
encounter with a Russian jet?
"The
type of missions we run generally are offensive-defensive types of
mission. You're looking to be cool, calm and collected," said Rob
Morgan, a short time after stepping out of the cockpit of his F-22 at
the Romanian base.
"Our
actions definitely do have greater consequences. We're very, very
careful with what we do. The mission planning that went into something
like this was extensive."
But,
laughing, joking and poking around the overgrown cold-war-era
Russian-made MiG-29 jets on display at the base, the pilots wear the
responsibility of flying the frontier between Putin's Russia and the
West lightly.
"Until
you're in that situation, I don't know if you really do know what it
feels like," said Barina - nicknamed 'Scream' because he reminds some of
the figure in Edvard Munch's expressionist painting.
"If
it's got to be done, it's got to be done. I'm not sure I'd think about a
whole lot else ... It's the job we all signed up for."
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