For the second day in a row Russia Tu-95H nuclear capable bombers have flown off the coast of Alaska. On Monday the US Air Force reportedly scrambled a pair of F-22 Raptor jets to intercept the Russian bombers. No aircraft were sent up in this latest incursion Tuesday night.
Monday April 19 – U.S. fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers near Alaska and flew alongside them for 12 minutes before the Russian planes reversed course, U.S. officials said.
The Tu-95 “Bear” bombers, capable of carrying nuclear bombs, breached the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone on Monday night, an area around the perimeter of the United States and Canada in which aircraft must identify their course and destination. Although the planes stayed in international airspace, they passed within 100 miles of Alaska’s Kodiak Islands. – UPI
This event comes in the wake of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to Moscow where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and stated after the meeting that relations with Russia were at a ‘low point’.
US officials said the Russian aircraft acted in a very professional manner. This is the first time during the Trump administration that Russian bombers have flown so close to the US.
Featured image of Russian Tu-95 “Bear” bomber by US Navy personnel, via Wikimedia Commons
