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Two Russian bombers were intercepted off the coast of Alaska recently – the first flight of the country's bombers off Alaska since mid-May, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
Russian planes, two long-range TU-95 "Bear" bombers, flew around midday Saturday in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), south of the Aleutian Islands, where they were intercepted by two fighters F-22.
"The two Russian combat aircraft TU-95 were intercepted and monitored by the F-22s until the bombers left ADIZ along the chain of Aleutian Islands in the direction of L-22. west, "said the spokesman. "At no time did Russian bombers enter the sovereign airspace of Canada or the United States.
Citing operational safety, NORAD said it would not disclose how close the Russian bombers were to US territory.
The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed the interception of this weekend, said TASS, the Russian news agency.
"The Russian Air Force's Tu-95 long-range strategic bombers flew regular flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk," the ministry said. . "At certain stages of the road, Russian aerospace aircraft were escorted by two F-22 fighter jets from the US Air Force."
Saturday's flight was the second time this year that Russian planes flew over Alaska.
On May 11, two Russian TU-95 bombers and one TU-142 maritime surveillance aircraft were also intercepted by two F-22s off the west coast of Alaska.
An ADIZ is a terrestrial or maritime airspace monitored in the interest of national security. The American ADIZ off the coast of Alaska extends to 200 miles from the coast in the international airspace.
Unidentified aircraft are asked to identify themselves during transit through this area. NORAD, a US-Canadian military command, will send military aircraft to unidentified aircraft entering the ADIZ to "intercept" them.
The interceptions involve the visual identification of the aircraft and the radio communications with the pilots.
