Seru! Su-35S Rusia Kejar-kejaran dengan F-22 AU AS di Suriah. Siapa yang Menang?

Walaupun kekuatan ISIS melemah di Suriah, namun Rusia tak mau membiarkan sisa-sisa kekuatan ISIS berkonsolidasi dan memulai lagi kampanye terornya. Untuk itulah, sorti pesawat serang Su-25 Frogfoot diterbangkan untuk melakukan operasi serangan darat. Namun begitu, misi penerbangan dan serang darat tersebut ternyata tidak berjalan lancar justru karena gangguan Amerika Serikat.

Sejumlah media Rusia seperti Sputnik dan RT (10/12) melaporkan bahwa pesawat siluman F-22 Raptor milik AU AS mengganggu sorti dua Su-25 yang terbang di wilayah sisi Barat sungai Eufrat untuk melancarkan serangan darat dengan bom dan roket. F-22 tersebut terbang cukup dekat sehingga Su-25 tidak bisa melancarkan serangan ke pinggiran kota Mayadin pada tanggal 23 November.

F-22 tersebut terbang dengan sangat agresif, melepaskan suar (flare)
untuk membutakan mata pilot Su-25 dan mengerem mendadak di depan posisi Su-25 tersebut dengan membuka rem udaranya sehingga Su-25 kocar-kacir berbelok dan terpaksa keluar dari formasinya. Su-25, yang tidak memiliki kelincahan untuk menghadapi F-22, akhirnya lapor ke markas.

Su-35S AU Rusia yang merupakan bagian dari detasemen Rusia di Suriah dan memang disiapkan untuk scramble atau lepas landas seketika pun diperintahkan untuk terbang dan heading ke formasi Su-25 yang diganggu tersebut. Juru bicara Kementerian Pertahanan Rusia Mayjend Igor Konashenkov melaporkan bahwa kemunculan Su-35 tersebut akhirnya memaksa F-22 kabur dan balik arah memasuki wilayah udara Irak.

Pihak Amerika Serikat tidak mengomentari kejadian versi Pemerintah Rusia tersebut, dan memang terdapat sejumlah kejanggalan dari apa yang diungkapkan oleh Kementerian Pertahanan Rusia, seperti kenapa hanya ada satu F-22 yang terbang, mengingat setidaknya seharusnya ada dua atau tiga F-22 yang terbang dalam flight, mengingat pesawat tempur dalam misi patroli sekalipun tidak pernah terbang sendirian.

Secara umum Amerika Serikat memang menyalahkan pihak Rusia, dimana juru bicara Komando Wilayah Tengah AU AS Letkol Damien Pickart menyatakan bahwa pesawat-pesawat Rusia terbang secara agresif dan tidak aman, dan kecenderungannya meningkat antara enam sampai delapan insiden setiap harinya pada akhir November, terutama pesawat Rusia yang melanggar wilayah udara di sisi Timur Eufrat yang masuk wilayah Irak di bawah pengawasan AS.

5 Consequences of Driving without Car Insurance Do you own a car? Great! Does your car also have a valid motor insurance cover on it? Owning a car, while earlier classified as being a luxury, has now moved down to being a comfort. In fact, in metros, a car has almost become a necessity due to long-distance commutes. More and more of us are, therefore, buying a car. But are we also buying the mandatory car insurance policy? Every car which is to ply on Indian roads should have a valid car insurance cover, states the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. When you buy a new car, the choice of buying an insurance policy is, thankfully, taken out of your hands. The on-road price of the car is inclusive of the insurance premium for your car insurance policy. The problems arise when the policy expires after a year. Car insurance plans are usually issued for one year after which they should be renewed. If you do not renew it, you are driving a car without car insurance. If numbers are any indication, a study by New India Assurance revealed that about 70% of vehicles on Indian roads are without insurance. Is your car one among them? If yes, beware. Here are 5 consequences if you drive your car without having a valid Car Insurance policy: Be prepared to pay heavy fines Earlier, the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 governed the road safety and traffic rules. Recently, the Government passed the Road Transport and Safety Bill 2014 to replace the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Among other changes, the Bill penalizes you heavily if you are caught driving without having a valid insurance cover. As per the amendments, you would have to part with a whopping Rs.25, 000 for a light motor vehicles or Rs.75, 000 for other motor vehicles as a fine for driving without insurance. A huge fine, isn’t it? Pay losses for damages caused to third party or property In an accident, if you unintentionally harm any person or surrounding property, you are liable to pay the loss incurred. This is called third party liability. Your car insurance mandatorily covers this third party liability and spares you the loss incurred. In the absence of a valid insurance cover, you would have to bear the losses incurred. If the person dies, your liability would be very high. Read more Is third party car worth buying? Pay losses for own damage While you have to compulsorily pay losses caused to a third party, what about your losses. In an accident even your vehicle suffers damage. The costs of repairs for such damage are borne by your comprehensive car insurance policy. Without insurance, the onus of paying for the repairs is on you. With the high cost associated with the repairs of your car, a financial strain is inevitable. Read more about All you need to know about car insurance Face legal complications Besides the financial loss suffered in an accident which causes damage to a third party and/or self, you would also be entangled in legal complications if your car is found without a valid insurance cover. You would be penalized, get a challan and might even be imprisoned. Loss of No Claim Bonus If your car insurance expires and you do not renew it, besides the penalties and fines, you also lose the No Claim Bonus which you accumulated in your existing policy. Car insurance plans allow a discount in subsequent year’s premiums if there is no claim in any current year. This discount increases every year and saves your premium outgo. If you let your car insurance policy lapse, you lose the accumulated NCB and end up paying a higher premium when the policy is consequently renewed. A car insurance policy is legally mandatory and not having one results in serious consequences (as mentioned above). While a third party liability cover is mandatory, a comprehensive policy is better. The former pays only for the damages caused to any third party but the latter also covers damages incurred by you and your car. The premium for a comprehensive policy is slightly higher because of higher coverage. For instance, the premium payable for a Maruti Ritz car registered in 2012 having a capacity of 1197cc would have a third party premium of Rs.2237 and a comprehensive premium of Rs.4200 (approximately). With a slight increase in the premium you can avail a higher coverage option which covers for your damages too. Since car repairs are expensive, a comprehensive policy makes more sense even if the premiums are a little high. So do not fall a victim to these consequences and buy an insurance policy for your car today.