Here Comes The F-22s: Russia’s Nuclear Weapons, Vladimir Putin’s Threats May Get A Raptor In Response

Why would the U.S. Air Force send Europe the F-22s?

Russia has recently stepped up its “saber-rattling” according to NATO, with Vladimir Putin increasing Russia’s nuclear arsenal to include new intercontinental ballistic nuclear weapons.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, clashes between the U.S. military and Russian jets have only escalated in 2015, with Russian jets buzzing U.S. warships and NATO ships. One incident was so close that a Russian fighter jet came with 10 feet of an American plane. In response, American tanks and other heavy weaponry may be headed to Europe soon.

Vladimir Putin’s threats over the Ukraine crisis has largely provided the impetus for supplying more military weapons to Europe and NATO. In September of 2014, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso claimed that Putin threatened World War 3.

“If I wanted, in two days I could have Russian troops not only in Kiev, but also in Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Warsaw and Bucharest.”

Fast-forward to 2015 and Putin’s tone has changed dramatically.

“There’s no need to be afraid of Russia,” Putin claimed. “The world has changed so much that people in their right mind cannot imagine such a large-scale military conflict today. We have other things to do, I can assure you. Only a sick person — and even then only in his sleep — can imagine that Russia would suddenly attack NATO.”

Some would disagree. Finland has already begun prepping its army reserves for war, and Sweden has already received help from U.S. B-52 nuclear bombers as a show of force in Europe.

When Putin confirmed that Russia’s nuclear weapons stockpiles were increasing, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg condemned the action while also saying that the increase in U.S. and NATO forces was justified.

“This nuclear sabre-rattling of Russia is unjustified, it’s destabilizing and it’s dangerous,” he claimed, according to BBC. “What NATO now does in the eastern part of the alliance is something that is proportionate, that is defensive and that is fully in line with our international commitments.”

When Air Force Secretary Deborah James was asked to explain why the U.S. Air Force could send in F-22s, Russia was listed as the “greatest threat.”

“I would say the biggest threat on my mind is what’s happening with Russia and the activities of Russia, and indeed that’s a big part of why I’m here in Europe and having those discussions,” she said. “It’s extremely worrisome on what’s going on in the Ukraine. We’ve seen the type of warfare, which someone dubbed it hybrid warfare, which is somewhat new. So I would put that at the top of my list.”

The U.S. Air Force has already deployed A-10s and F-15Cs to Europe, and these two units are scheduled to spend six month flying missions. As for the F-22s? Russia may be saber-rattling now, but James said the F-22 Raptors would only be deployed as part of a rotation of U.S. forces in Europe.

“I could easily see the day — though I couldn’t tell you the day exactly — when the F-22, for example, rotates in is a possibility. I don’t see why that couldn’t happen in the future,” James said, according to Military.com.

[Image via Getty Images]