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The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Putin's nuke button, ‘poo briefcase' & army of bodyguards… Giant security op that will go with Vlad for Trump showdown
AS one of the world's most powerful man on Earth, his security entourage will do anything to save his life from bloodthirsty would-be assassins. Vladimir Putin is expected to be surrounded by a high-profile security entourage as the despot with an international arrest warrant steps out of Russia. 10 Russian President Vladimir Putin, surrounded by his bodyguards, leaves the car Credit: Getty 10 Russia's President Vladimir Putin surrounded by bodyguards, as he leaves the Europe-Asia summit in 2014 Credit: Reuters 10 Russian nuclear briefcase was shown for the first time on state televison Credit: Wikipedia 10 The world's eyes will be on Alaska on Friday as leaders of the two superpowers sit down for a showdown that will decide Ukraine's fate. Trump and Vladimir Putin will sit down "one-on-one" at the Elmendorf-Richardson base in Alaska. The Kremlin confirmed key details of the crunch talks - with the showdown kicking off at 11.30am Alaskan time (8.30pm UK time). Putin, who has rarely set foot in a foreign country since begining his invasion of Ukraine in 2023, will be surrounded by his highly-trained bodyguards to ensure maximum protection. The former KGB agent, who has been ruling Russia for 25 years, is said to be obsessed with his security. A Russian official who attended the Victory Day parade on May 9 told The Moscow Times: "The Kremlin takes Vladimir Putin's security very seriously. He is protected by a whole army of visible and invisible guards." Members of ageing Putin's security team, who call themselves his "Musketeers", are said to be from a special unit within Russia's Federal Protective Service (FSO), according to The Economist. Among the many things they are expected to carry are a number of suitcases, but they are not ordinary luggage. Each one comes with a bulletproof protection that can be used as a shield in case shots are fired at Putin. One of them is said to be a "Poo suitcase", which is used to collect his stools and urine and deliver them back to Moscow. Inside remote Alaska ice base where Trump and Putin go head-to-head in CRUCIAL Ukraine war showdown French magazine Paris Match claimed that the bizarre practice was first noted in 2017 during a state visit to France. It is thought that Putin - who over the years has been at the centre of health rumours - does not want outsiders to know his physical condition, which could be studied using his faecal matter. In 2019, a strange video showed paranoid Vlad being accompanied to the bathroom by six male bodyguards during Ukraine peace talks at Paris' Elysee Palace. Putin also likes to carry his dreaded nuclear briefcase dubbed "Cheget". Developed during the 1980s for the Soviet KGB, earlier versions of these were said to have an explosive charge of one kiloton, equivalent to one thousand tons of TNT. That's enough to destroy everything within a half-mile radius. The current version is thought to act as a communication device, relaying orders to launch a nuclear attack. With just the press of a button, the General Staff in Moscow receives the signal and initiates the nuclear attack. 10 Russian President Vladimir Putin's bodyguard carrying special suitcases Credit: EPA 10 The despot is always pictured with suitcases close to him whenever he steps out in public Credit: EPA Meanwhile, Putin's bodyguards are said to be handpicked for qualities that include 'operational psychology,' physical stamina and the ability to withstand cold and not sweat in heat. They are equipped with an SR-1 Vektor pistol said which can fire armour-piercing bullets. Before Putin travels, advance teams scout out his destination months ahead of time, checking to see how the public will likely respond and even if the area could be affected by bad weather or natural disasters. Wherever he's going to stay gets inspected, jamming devices are installed to prevent remote detonation of bombs, and technicians conduct electronic surveillance of cellphones and other devices in the area. On the road, Putin rides amid a convoy of heavily armoured vans that carry military special operators armed with AK-47s, anti-tank grenade launchers and portable anti-aircraft missiles. The Friday summit is said to have a ring of steel security, made up of both Russian and American special agents. The base, near Anchorage, is bristling with troops from the US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps - as well as National Guardsmen and Reserves. 10 Elmendorf-Richardson base in Anchorage, Alaska, has been named as the setting for Trump's meeting with Putin Credit: DVIDS 10 Trump and Putin will touch down on the massive military runway on Friday Credit: DVIDS/USAF Airman First Class Mario Calabro 10 Trump and Putin will sit down for what the White House calls a 'listening exercise' Credit: Reuters In all, over 32,000 military personnel and their families live there - ten per cent of the population of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city - alongside grizzly bears, moose and wolves. It played a "particularly important" role in defending the US against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, according to the Library of Congress. The White House apparently wanted to avoid the sight of a Russian leader being welcomed into a US military setting - but concluded there was no other option. Elmendorf-Richardson is reportedly considered the only site in Alaska which could be locked down to the required level of security for the high-stakes meeting. Putin will fly the nine hours from Moscow and Trump the seven-and-a-half hours from Washington, with ample room on the runway for both their presidential aircraft.
Japan Today
10-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Expanding missile threats and airspace closures are straining airlines
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows emergency specialists working at the crash site of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan December 25, 2024. REUTERS/Azamat Sarsenbayev/File Photo By Lisa Barrington, Shivansh Tiwary and Joanna Plucinska Proliferating conflict zones are an increasing burden on airline operations and profitability, executives say, as carriers grapple with missiles and drones, airspace closures, location spoofing and the shoot-down of another passenger flight. Airlines are racking up costs and losing market share from cancelled flights and expensive re-routings, often at short notice. The aviation industry, which prides itself on its safety performance, is investing more in data and security planning. "Flight planning in this kind of environment is extremely difficult … The airline industry thrives on predictability, and the absence of this will always drive greater cost," said Guy Murray, who leads aviation security at European carrier TUI Airline. With increasing airspace closures around Russia and Ukraine, throughout the Middle East, between India and Pakistan and in parts of Africa, airlines are left with fewer route options. "Compared to five years ago, more than half of the countries being overflown on a typical Europe-Asia flight would now need to be carefully reviewed before each flight," said Mark Zee, founder of OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East since October 2023 led to commercial aviation sharing the skies with short-notice barrages of drones and missiles across major flight paths – some of which were reportedly close enough to be seen by pilots and passengers. Russian airports, including in Moscow, are now regularly shut down for brief periods due to drone activity, while interference with navigation systems, known as GPS spoofing or jamming, is surging around political fault lines worldwide. When hostilities broke out between India and Pakistan last month, the neighbors blocked each other's aircraft from their respective airspace. "Airspace should not be used as a retaliatory tool, but it is," Nick Careen, International Air Transport Association (IATA) senior vice president for operations, safety and security, told reporters at the airline body's annual meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. Isidre Porqueras, chief operating officer at Indian carrier IndiGo, said the recent diversions were undoing efforts to reduce emissions and increase airline efficiencies. WORST-CASE SCENARIO Finances aside, civil aviation's worst-case scenario is a plane being hit, accidentally or intentionally, by weaponry. In December, an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. The plane was accidentally shot down by Russian air defences, according to Azerbaijan's president and Reuters sources. In October, a cargo plane was shot down in Sudan, killing five people. Six commercial aircraft have been shot down unintentionally, with three near-misses since 2001, according to aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions. Governments need to share information more effectively to keep civil aviation secure as conflict zones proliferate, IATA Director General Willie Walsh said this week. Safety statistics used by the commercial aviation industry show a steady decline in accidents over the past two decades, but these do not include security-related incidents such as being hit by weaponry. IATA said in February that accidents and incidents related to conflict zones were a top concern for aviation safety requiring urgent global coordination. TOUGH CHOICES Each airline decides where to travel based on a patchwork of government notices, security advisers, and information-sharing between carriers and states, leading to divergent policies. The closure of Russian airspace to most Western carriers since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022 put them at a cost disadvantage compared to airlines from places like China, India and the Middle East that continue to take shorter northern routes that need less fuel and fewer crew. Shifting risk calculations mean Singapore Airlines' flight SQ326 from Singapore to Amsterdam has used three different routes into Europe in just over a year, Flightradar24 tracking data shows. When reciprocal missile and drone attacks broke out between Iran and Israel in April 2024, it started crossing previously avoided Afghanistan instead of Iran. Last month, its route shifted again to avoid Pakistan's airspace as conflict escalated between India and Pakistan. Flight SQ326 now reaches Europe via the Persian Gulf and Iraq. Singapore Airlines did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Pilots and flight attendants are also worried about how the patchwork of shifting risk might impact their safety. "IATA says airlines should decide if it's safe to fly over conflict zones, not regulators. But history shows commercial pressures can cloud those decisions," said Paul Reuter, vice president of the European Cockpit Association, which represents pilots. Flight crew typically have the right to refuse a trip due to concerns about airspace, whether over weather or conflict zones, IATA security head Careen said. "Most airlines, in fact, I would say the vast majority of them, do not want crew on an aircraft if they don't feel comfortable flying," he said. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
AsiaOne
10-06-2025
- Business
- AsiaOne
Expanding missile threats and airspace closures are straining airlines, World News
NEW DELHI — Proliferating conflict zones are an increasing burden on airline operations and profitability, executives say, as carriers grapple with missiles and drones, airspace closures, location spoofing and the shoot-down of another passenger flight. Airlines are racking up costs and losing market share from cancelled flights and expensive re-routings, often at short notice. The aviation industry, which prides itself on its safety performance, is investing more in data and security planning. "Flight planning in this kind of environment is extremely difficult … The airline industry thrives on predictability, and the absence of this will always drive greater cost," said Guy Murray, who leads aviation security at European carrier TUI Airline. With increasing airspace closures around Russia and Ukraine, throughout the Middle East, between India and Pakistan and in parts of Africa, airlines are left with fewer route options. "Compared to five years ago, more than half of the countries being overflown on a typical Europe-Asia flight would now need to be carefully reviewed before each flight," said Mark Zee, founder of OpsGroup, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East since October 2023 led to commercial aviation sharing the skies with short-notice barrages of drones and missiles across major flight paths — some of which were reportedly close enough to be seen by pilots and passengers. Russian airports, including in Moscow, are now regularly shut down for brief periods due to drone activity, while interference with navigation systems, known as GPS spoofing or jamming, is surging around political fault lines worldwide. When hostilities broke out between India and Pakistan last month, the neighbours blocked each other's aircraft from their respective airspace. "Airspace should not be used as a retaliatory tool, but it is," Nick Careen, International Air Transport Association (IATA) senior vice president for operations, safety and security, told reporters at the airline body's annual meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. Isidre Porqueras, chief operating officer at Indian carrier IndiGo, said the recent diversions were undoing efforts to reduce emissions and increase airline efficiencies. Worst-case scenario Finances aside, civil aviation's worst-case scenario is a plane being hit, accidentally or intentionally, by weaponry. In December, an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. The plane was accidentally shot down by Russian air defences, according to Azerbaijan's president and Reuters sources. In October, a cargo plane was shot down in Sudan, killing five people. Six commercial aircraft have been shot down unintentionally, with three near-misses since 2001, according to aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions. Governments need to share information more effectively to keep civil aviation secure as conflict zones proliferate, IATA Director General Willie Walsh said this week. Safety statistics used by the commercial aviation industry show a steady decline in accidents over the past two decades, but these do not include security-related incidents such as being hit by weaponry. IATA said in February that accidents and incidents related to conflict zones were a top concern for aviation safety requiring urgent global coordination. Tough choices Each airline decides where to travel based on a patchwork of government notices, security advisers, and information-sharing between carriers and states, leading to divergent policies. The closure of Russian airspace to most Western carriers since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022 put them at a cost disadvantage compared to airlines from places like China, India and the Middle East that continue to take shorter northern routes that need less fuel and fewer crew. Shifting risk calculations mean Singapore Airlines' flight SQ326 from Singapore to Amsterdam has used three different routes into Europe in just over a year, Flightradar24 tracking data shows. When reciprocal missile and drone attacks broke out between Iran and Israel in April 2024, it started crossing previously avoided Afghanistan instead of Iran. Last month, its route shifted again to avoid Pakistan's airspace as conflict escalated between India and Pakistan. Flight SQ326 now reaches Europe via the Persian Gulf and Iraq. Singapore Airlines did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Pilots and flight attendants are also worried about how the patchwork of shifting risk might impact their safety. "IATA says airlines should decide if it's safe to fly over conflict zones, not regulators. But history shows commercial pressures can cloud those decisions," said Paul Reuter, vice president of the European Cockpit Association, which represents pilots. Flight crew typically have the right to refuse a trip due to concerns about airspace, whether over weather or conflict zones, IATA security head Careen said. "Most airlines, in fact, I would say the vast majority of them, do not want crew on an aircraft if they don't feel comfortable flying," he said. [[nid:717677]]
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Business Standard
04-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Rising missile threats, airspace closures increase pressure on airlines
Proliferating conflict zones are an increasing burden on airline operations and profitability, executives say, as carriers grapple with missiles and drones, airspace closures, location spoofing and the shoot-down of another passenger flight. Airlines are racking up costs and losing market share from cancelled flights and expensive re-routings, often at short notice. The aviation industry, which prides itself on its safety performance, is investing more in data and security planning. "Flight planning in this kind of environment is extremely difficult … The airline industry thrives on predictability, and the absence of this will always drive greater cost," said Guy Murray, who leads aviation security at European carrier TUI Airline. With increasing airspace closures around Russia and Ukraine, throughout the Middle East, between India and Pakistan and in parts of Africa, airlines are left with fewer route options. "Compared to five years ago, more than half of the countries being overflown on a typical Europe-Asia flight would now need to be carefully reviewed before each flight," said Mark Zee, founder of OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East since October 2023 led to commercial aviation sharing the skies with short-notice barrages of drones and missiles across major flight paths - some of which were reportedly close enough to be seen by pilots and passengers. Russian airports, including in Moscow, are now regularly shut down for brief periods due to drone activity, while interference with navigation systems, known as GPS spoofing or jamming, is surging around political fault lines worldwide. When hostilities broke out between India and Pakistan last month, the neighbours blocked each other's aircraft from their respective airspace. "Airspace should not be used as a retaliatory tool, but it is," Nick Careen, International Air Transport Association (IATA) senior vice president for operations, safety and security, told reporters at the airline body's annual meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. Isidre Porqueras, chief operating officer at Indian carrier IndiGo, said the recent diversions were undoing efforts to reduce emissions and increase airline efficiencies. Worst-case scenario Finances aside, civil aviation's worst-case scenario is a plane being hit, accidentally or intentionally, by weaponry. In December, an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. The plane was accidentally shot down by Russian air defences, according to Azerbaijan's president and Reuters sources. In October, a cargo plane was shot down in Sudan, killing five people. Six commercial aircraft have been shot down, with three near-misses since 2001, according to aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions. Governments need to share information more effectively to keep civil aviation secure as conflict zones proliferate, IATA Director General Willie Walsh said this week. Safety statistics used by the commercial aviation industry show a steady decline in accidents over the past two decades, but these do not include security-related incidents such as being hit by weaponry. IATA said in February that accidents and incidents related to conflict zones were a top concern for aviation safety requiring urgent global coordination. Tough Choices Each airline decides where to travel based on a patchwork of government notices, security advisers, and information-sharing between carriers and states, leading to divergent policies. The closure of Russian airspace to most Western carriers since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022 put them at a cost disadvantage compared to airlines from places like China, India and the Middle East that continue to take shorter northern routes that need less fuel and fewer crew. Shifting risk calculations mean Singapore Airlines' flight SQ326 from Singapore to Amsterdam has used three different routes into Europe in just over a year, Flightradar24 tracking data shows. When reciprocal missile and drone attacks broke out between Iran and Israel in April 2024, it started crossing previously avoided Afghanistan instead of Iran. Last month, its route shifted again to avoid Pakistan's airspace as conflict escalated between India and Pakistan. Flight SQ326 now reaches Europe via the Persian Gulf and Iraq. Singapore Airlines did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Pilots and flight attendants are also worried about how the patchwork of shifting risk might impact their safety. "IATA says airlines should decide if it's safe to fly over conflict zones, not regulators. But history shows commercial pressures can cloud those decisions," said Paul Reuter, vice president of the European Cockpit Association, which represents pilots. Flight crew typically have the right to refuse a trip due to concerns about airspace, whether over weather or conflict zones, IATA security head Careen said. "Most airlines, in fact, I would say the vast majority of them, do not want crew on an aircraft if they don't feel comfortable flying," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Straits Times
04-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Expanding missile threats and airspace closures are straining airlines
Airlines are racking up costs and losing market share from cancelled flights and expensive re-routings, often at short notice. PHOTO: AFP NEW DELHI - Proliferating conflict zones are an increasing burden on airline operations and profitability, executives say, as carriers grapple with missiles and drones, airspace closures, location spoofing and the shoot-down of another passenger flight. Airlines are racking up costs and losing market share from cancelled flights and expensive re-routings, often at short notice. The aviation industry, which prides itself on its safety performance, is investing more in data and security planning. 'Flight planning in this kind of environment is extremely difficult… The airline industry thrives on predictability, and the absence of this will always drive greater cost,' said Mr Guy Murray, who leads aviation security at European carrier TUI Airline. With increasing airspace closures around Russia and Ukraine, throughout the Middle East, between India and Pakistan and in parts of Africa, airlines are left with fewer route options. 'Compared to five years ago, more than half of the countries being overflown on a typical Europe-Asia flight would now need to be carefully reviewed before each flight,' said Mr Mark Zee, founder of Opsgroup, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East since October 2023 led to commercial aviation sharing the skies with short-notice barrages of drones and missiles across major flight paths – some of which were reportedly close enough to be seen by pilots and passengers. Russian airports, including in Moscow, are now regularly shut down for brief periods due to drone activity, while interference with navigation systems, known as GPS spoofing or jamming, is surging around political fault lines worldwide. When hostilities broke out between India and Pakistan in May, the neighbours blocked each other's aircraft from their respective airspace. 'Airspace should not be used as a retaliatory tool, but it is,' Mr Nick Careen, International Air Transport Association (IATA) senior vice-president for operations, safety and security, told reporters at the airline body's annual meeting in New Delhi on June 3. Mr Isidre Porqueras, chief operating officer at Indian carrier IndiGo, said the recent diversions were undoing efforts to reduce emissions and increase airline efficiencies. Worst-case scenario Finances aside, civil aviation's worst-case scenario is a plane being hit, accidentally or intentionally, by weaponry. In December, an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. The plane was accidentally shot down by Russian air defences, according to Azerbaijan's president and Reuters sources. In October, a cargo plane was shot down in Sudan, killing five people. Six commercial aircraft have been shot down, with three near-misses since 2001, according to aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions. Governments need to share information more effectively to keep civil aviation secure as conflict zones proliferate, IATA Director-General Willie Walsh said this week. Safety statistics used by the commercial aviation industry show a steady decline in accidents over the past two decades, but these do not include security-related incidents such as being hit by weaponry. IATA said in February that accidents and incidents related to conflict zones were a top concern for aviation safety requiring urgent global coordination. Tough choices Each airline decides where to travel based on a patchwork of government notices, security advisers, and information-sharing between carriers and states, leading to divergent policies. The closure of Russian airspace to most Western carriers since the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022 put them at a cost disadvantage compared to airlines from places like China, India and the Middle East that continue to take shorter northern routes that need less fuel and fewer crew. Shifting risk calculations mean Singapore Airlines' flight SQ326 from Singapore to Amsterdam has used three different routes into Europe in just over a year, Flightradar24 tracking data shows. When reciprocal missile and drone attacks broke out between Iran and Israel in April 2024, it started crossing previously avoided Afghanistan instead of Iran. In May, its route shifted again to avoid Pakistan's airspace as conflict escalated between India and Pakistan. Flight SQ326 now reaches Europe via the Persian Gulf and Iraq. Singapore Airlines did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Pilots and flight attendants are also worried about how the patchwork of shifting risk might impact their safety. 'IATA says airlines should decide if it's safe to fly over conflict zones, not regulators. But history shows commercial pressures can cloud those decisions,' said Mr Paul Reuter, vice-president of the European Cockpit Association, which represents pilots. Flight crew typically have the right to refuse a trip due to concerns about airspace, whether over weather or conflict zones, IATA security head Mr Careen said. 'Most airlines, in fact, I would say the vast majority of them, do not want crew on an aircraft if they don't feel comfortable flying,' he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
