MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/: The air defenses of Russia’s Kaliningrad Region are capable of repelling air attacks from the United States, including those involving fifth generation fighter jets, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
"Russia’s Kaliningrad Region is well protected from any aggressive plans that American generals who visit Europe may have," the statement reads.
The ministry pointed out that "all NATO pilots who happened to conduct flights near Russia’s airspace in the Baltic region are well aware" of the technological capacity of Kaliningrad’s air defenses, including the ability to detect and, if necessary, destroy air targets. "It fully applies to the United States’ fifth generation fighter jets, which are ‘invisible’ only to US taxpayers and foreign buyers," the statement adds.
The Russian Defense Ministry also said that the Pentagon had reasons to be concerned that the delivery of the Russian-made S-400 systems to Turkey might tarnish the image of the F-35 stealth aircraft.
"Commander of US Air Forces in Europe General Jeff Harrigan’s thoughtlessness and naive belief in plans to conquer Kaliningrad should cause concern, first and foremost, to his immediate subordinates who, unlike him, seem to be familiar with one of the most important principles of military commanders: all plans look good until a battle begins," the statement said.
‘Mock missile attack’ on Kaliningrad
The National Interest reported earlier, citing independent analyst Steffan Watkins, that a "non-nuclear-capable B-52… flew a mock cruise-missile attack on Kaliningrad on March 14, 2019." According to Watkins, the aircraft took off from Louisiana’s Barksdale Air Force Base in the US and "conducted a mock nuclear cruise missile strike on the Russian Federation, only turning around 60 nautical miles from Russian airspace" and landing at Royal Air Force Fairford in the United Kingdom.
"The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which lies between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea and is geographically separate from the rest of Russia, practically bristles with S-300 and S-400 air-defense missiles, Oniks anti-ship missiles and Iskander surface-to-surface missiles," the article said, adding that "US forces believe they know how to crack Kaliningrad," according to Commander of US Air Forces in Europe General Jeff Harrigan.
Kaliningrad Governor Anton Alikhanov said, commenting on the National Interest article, that the United States should refrain from plotting to attack the exclave because the technological prowess and morale of the troops deployed there empowered it to fight off any adversary.
