MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Wednesday that two of its Tu-95MC strategic bombers flew over waters near the U.S. state of Alaska but said they stayed in international airspace.
The Tu-95s, known as Bears by NATO, flew for about 9 hours, escorted by SU-30SM fighter jets. They flew over the Bering and Chukchi Seas, Russia’s defence ministry said.
“The flight was carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace,” said Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash, Commander of Russian long–range aviation.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said that it had detected four Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
“The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” NORAD said in a statement.
President Vladimir Putin in 2007 revived the Soviet-era practice of sending strategic bombers on regular patrols beyond Russia’s borders.
The four-engine Tu-95 with contrarotating propellers is the Russian counterpart to the American B-52.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Christina Fincher)