RUSSIA NUCLEAR BOMBERS FLY NEAR ALASKA, U.S. JETS FOLLOW
Nuclear-capable Russian bombers flew off the coast of Alaska, prompting U.S. Air Force fighter jets to intercept them.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday in a statement that "four Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers of the Russian Aerospace Forces made scheduled sorties over the neutral waters of the Chukotka, Bering and Okhotsk seas, as well as along the western coast of Alaska and the northern coast of the Aleutian Islands." The entire flight lasted longer than 12 hours and "at certain stages of the route, Russian aircraft were escorted by F-22 fighter jets of the USAF."
The ministry said "long-range pilots make regular flights over neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black and Caspian seas, and Pacific Ocean" and that such flights were "carried out in strict accordance with the International Airspace Management System without violating the borders of other states."
The incident was confirmed in a separate post to social media by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which provided surveillance via an E-3 Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft. The post additionally mentioned the presence of Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets, accompanying the bombers, which entered Alaska's Air Defense Identification Zone, but remained in international airspace.
"NORAD fighters intercepted Russian bombers+fighters entering Alaskan ADIZ May 20. 2x Tu-95s were intercepted by 2x F-22s; a second group of 2x Tu-95+2x Su-35 was intercepted later by 2 more F-22’s; NORAD E-3 provided overall surveillance," NORAD's official account tweeted. "The aircraft remained in int'l airspace."
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