Portuguese Air Force fighter F-16 (R) and Canadian Air Force fighter CF-18 Hornet patrol over Baltics air space, from the Zokniai air base near Siauliai November 20, 2014. NATO pilots practised scrambling their jets on Wednesday, in preparation for potent
IN PHOTO: Portuguese Air Force fighter F-16 (R) and Canadian Air Force fighter CF-18 Hornet patrol over Baltics air space, from the Zokniai air base near Siauliai November 20, 2014. NATO pilots practised scrambling their jets on Wednesday, in preparation for potential further unauthorised Russian jets encountered on Baltic patrols. The flight drills were part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission, a collective defence project which has been running for a decade. Reuters/Ints Kalnins

The U.S. Air Force has candidly admitted that it considers Russia as its biggest threat and will look at advanced fighter plane options to deter it, mainly in Europe, where it is flexing muscles after the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

The concern was raised by U.S Air Force secretary Deborah James, who said the “biggest threat on my mind is what's happening with Russia and the activities of Russia,". The official was on a visit to the Paris Air Show. She added, “it's extremely worrisome on what's going on in the Ukraine.”

Interestingly, the frank admission came after Pentagon began rotating its aircraft through Europe in exercises with allies named as “Operation Atlantic Resolve” for showing America's commitment to European security. In the joint exercises, the U.S had sent B-2 and B-52 bombers, F-15Cs and A-10 attack planes as well as several assets from the army and navy.

F-22 Raptor

James also made public the new perceptions of Pentagon on the situation and said, "I could easily see the day -- though I couldn't tell you the day exactly -- when the F-22, for example, rotates in as a possibility. I don't see why that couldn't happen in the future.”

The stealthy F-22s are lethal and can be configured easily to attack other aircraft or in bombing ground targets. The F-22 Raptor boasts of the most-advanced aero design, advanced flight controls, thrust vectoring, and high thrust-to-weight ratio with the capability to outmaneuver any aircraft.

The F-22 cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft, says the the Air Force's fact sheet and that includes what Russia is putting in the air. With costs of $143 million per piece, F22 is being flaunted as the ultimate in fighters. Russia’s reaction to James' remarks came through its state-sponsored media Sputnik International’s website.

Russian Reaction

Ruusia’s reaction called the so called threats from Russia as "fictional." But Moscow said it will make its own moves if the F-22s were to deployed and left no one in doubt about it. “Their deployment will certainly be an additional impetus for Moscow to speed up the process of developing and putting on service the Russian response, the fifth-generation T-50 fighter," Sputnik quoted Vladimir Batyuk, of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In recent times, U.S. and Russian forces had several close calls around European skies after the Ukraine crisis related tension erupted. In May, a Russian fighter jet, flying at a high speed came within 10 feet of a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft in the international airspace over the Black Sea. The U.S. officials shared the information with CNN and also highlighted another close call when a U.S. RC-135U flying a routine route in international airspace was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 Flanker in an "unsafe and unprofessional manner."

In early June, the U.S. Navy released a video of Russian Su-24 aircraft flying past the guided missile destroyer USS Ross in the Black Sea. The video was made public to nail the Russian versions of the episode and showed a warplane approaching from a distance and quickly zooming past the American vessel.

(For feedback/comments, contact the writer at k.kumar@ibtimes.com.au)

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