Not to say that they wouldn’t if they could.
But how exactly do you pierce and install a tap into optical fibre cables at the bottom of the sea without destroying them on a technical level? And given the bandwidth said cable operates at, how do you stealthily install a high-performance server cluster on the sea bed on the tap to copy said data?
Its possible they pull the cable up to the surface and install their own repeater. Another possibility is that parts of the system leak radiation which can be picked up at close range. Either way I doubt that the people who do these things are posting on boingboing.
edit: thinking about it some more I wonder if they do drill directly into the cable, and insert a sensor close to the optical fibre. It would be a bit like brain surgery and I thought maybe they do it under pressure, with a water tight collar around the cable, then drill a really small hole, insert a sensor, and then some sealing compound.
Don’t rub.
Don’t go all prissy about it. Play it down. Just boys being boys. “We didn’t really notice anything to tell you the truth. We just assumed it was a rookie pilot having trouble controlling his airplane.” The Ruskies are just trying to out-macho us. Give it right back to them.
The least trivial detail is avoiding a life-threatening situation when coming into close proximity. Again, the U.S. military has a decent record on this, and Russia and China decidedly don’t.
I have no idea what you’re talking about when it comes to some supposed difference in philosophy. Militaries trolley for signals intelligence constantly, and they are routinely met and escorted by countries nearby that are wary of them and want to make sure they don’t stray from international space into the country’s own space.
The issue here it that it was done in an unsafe way. There’s a right way and a wrong way to conduct a cold war.
Pilots…Same everywhere… give em a nice piece of equipment and they have to wave it in your face. Don’t over think it. Pilots pull this crap all the time.
How do we know who was acting unsafe here? Intercepts like this are basically just a giant game of chicken, right- so did the Russians get too close or did the Americans not turn soon enough?
This did get me wondering what such intercepts look like in their press. In US press, US intercepts are meticulously professional, but everyone else is unsafe and needlessly aggressive. What’s the bet Russian intercepts look just as professional in Russian media?
I wouldn’t rely on anyone to tell us the truth. Everything we’re told is just as much a part of “the game”.
Harvard’s been chewing on it:
I learned a few things.
Not as much as I often learn from you!
Interesting that there seems to have been only a single interceptor and no wingman.
Trump to Putin: “Could you have one of your planes buzz one of ours so I can tweet out a “how dare they” to help me handle this traitor-to-America thing?”
Obviously, the techniques are state secrets, but one technique involves physically attacking the underwater repeaters. There’s even a special submarine to do this very thing, complete with a moon pool and ROVs, the USS Jimmy Carter. The Russians on the other hand use a surface ship, the “research vessel” Yantar.
See also:
It looks like this: The Russians release a 1 minute, 27 second video, and claim that the American ship acted unsafe while disobeying international maritime law regarding encounters at sea.
Afterwards, the US Navy releases a detailed statement explaining that the intercept lasted over an hour, featured the Russian vessel repeatedly moving in front an aircraft carrier preventing it it from turning, and thus interfering with flight operations, and then began to falsely display a distress signal while continuously moving in a manner to obstruct operations. A much longer video of the encounter was released from US Navy, but alas, I can not find it.
Trump immediately called Putin and said “Sorry sir, it won’t happen again.”
I am unconcerned by it. The whole thing is kind of like somebody parking on the street in front of your house. It might be a little irritating, but it is a public street and they have a perfect right to do so.
My suspicion is that most of the interceptions by Russian and Chinese aircraft ARE well-disciplined. That is why this is noteworthy. And not to say that the US has never been without fault. In the 50s the US used to conduce photo reconnaissance flights over the Soviet Union in B-36 BOMBERS. At least later they switched to U-2 aircraft which were at least somewhat less likely to spark a war.
The MSM is fake news!!! You do know that there are other outlets, like SCMP, Guardian, RT, etc., etc., etc., that aren’t beholden to U.S. interests, and you don’t have to be a passive victim of outlets you don’t trust, right?
They are, however, beholden to their own interests.
All media is propaganda. Read much, trust little.
So what’s your angle? 
I saw the video. The Russian plane pretty much points his afterburner jet right at the american plane in close proximity. Seems pretty dangerous.
