This is the first provocation since last year when, again in May, the United States military intercepted two Russian bombers. Those bombers were also off the coast of Alaska. The two encounters were eerily similar.
Washington (AFP) – US fighter jets intercepted two long-range Russian “Bear” bombers in international airspace off western Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said Saturday.
The long-range Tupelev Tu-95 bombers were “intercepted and visually identified” Friday morning by a pair of F-22 Raptors as the Russian aircraft flew just north of Alaska’s Aleutian islands, said Canadian Army Major Andrew Hennessy, of NORAD public affairs.
Two U.S. fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers in international airspace off the coast of Alaska on May 11.
The two Russian TU-95 Bear bombers flew into a so-called Air Defense Identification Zone located about 300 kilometers off Alaska’s west coast, according to a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command in a statement to CNN on May 12.
Two F-22 fighter jets intercepted and visually identified the Russian bombers until they left the zone. The Russian aircraft never entered U.S. airspace, CNN reported, citing the statement.
Time Reported that the incident marks the latest in a series of encounters between Russian and American jets. CNN reports U.S. F-22s intercepted Russian bombers in a similar incident near Alaska in May 2017.
General Jack Keane says we should expect more strategic ‘testing’ in the future. It’s a ‘test of will’ between the Nations who are currently in a power struggle. According to the General, there is no need for alarm at this time.