03 May 2024 , 12:10
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US fighter jets allegedly scrambled to intercept Russian nuclear bombers as they came face-to-face with two warplanes Vladimir Putin deployed near the coast of Alaska.
The Russian defence minister admitted its hulking ‘Bear’ strategic bombers “appeared near the coast of Alaska” on an 11-hour flight over the Bering Sea. Moscow said: “At certain stages the missile carriers were accompanied by fighter jets of foreign countries”.
In footage from the Russian Defence Ministry a warplane from the Alaska Air National Guard, part of the United States Air Force, is visible marked with the letters AK and the number 304 on its tail fin. So is a Russian escort Su-30SM fighter jet.
“Two Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces’ long-range aviation carried out a scheduled flight in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Bering Sea near the western coast of Alaska,” said the defence ministry. “The flight lasted over 11 hours. Crews of Su-30SM of the Aerospace Forces provided fighter support.”
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A warplane from the Alaska Air National Guard, part of the United States Air Force, flies alongside two Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces (Ministry of Defence, Russia /east2west news)It is unclear which other foreign state sent up its aircraft to monitor the Russian mission. The closest Western country would be Canada.
Moscow claimed that “all flights of the Russian Aerospace Forces are carried out in strict compliance with international rules of airspace use”. The Tu-95 fleet is an integral part of Russia ’s nuclear armoury, but the planes have been also used to launch devastating conventional missile strikes causing large-scale destruction in Ukraine.
The Soviet-era Tu-95s first flew some 70 years ago but remain a mainstay of the Russian nuclear force. The warplanes are the world ’s only propeller-powered strategic bombers.
The meeting in the sky comes amid tensions between Russia and the US (Ministry of Defence, Russia /east2west news)The aerial drama came amid fury in Moscow over the US resuming major arms supplies to Ukraine as part of a $61 billion package of war aid. The White House confirmed last week that the country will send a substantial security package to Ukraine, including badly needed air defence systems and artillery rounds.
“We rose to the moment, we came together and we got it done,” US President Joe Biden said at a White House event last week. “Now we need to move fast, and we are.”
Senior US officials have described dire battlefield conditions in Ukraine, as troops run low on munitions and Russian forces make gains. Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, the US has sent more than 44 billion dollars (£35.2 billion) worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts to Ukraine. Among the weapons provided to Ukraine were Abrams M1A1 battle tanks.