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Four military aircraft, including a pair of Russian Tu-95MC bombers, are approaching the US state of Alaska. Photo/REUTERS
WASHINGTON – Four Russian military aircraft, including a pair of Tu-95MC strategic bombers, have approached the territory of the state of Alaska, United States (US), on Wednesday.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the maneuvers of their four military aircraft remained in international airspace, not violating the territory of other countries.
According to the ministry, a pair of Tu-95MCs—known as Bears by NATO—flew for about nine hours escorted by Su-30SM fighter jets. They fly over the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea.
“The flight was carried out in accordance with international regulations regarding the use of airspace,” said Russia's long-range aviation commander, Lieutenant General Sergei Kobylash, as quoted by Reuters, Thursday (8/2/2024).
Meanwhile, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) claimed to have 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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2007 revived the Soviet-era practice of sending strategic bombers to carry out routine patrols beyond Russia's borders.
The four-engine Tu-95 with opposing propellers is the Russian version of the American B-52 bomber.
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