May 12, 2018
A pair of U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets intercepted two Russian Tu-95 Bear nuclear-capable strategic bombers off the coast of Alaska on Friday morning.
According to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the Russian long-range bombers flew into the U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), which extends approximately 200 miles off Alaska’s western coast. This Saturday marks 60th birthday for NORAD.
“At approximately 10 a.m. ET, two Alaskan-based NORAD F-22 fighters intercepted and visually identified two Russian TU-95 Bear long-range bomber aircraft flying in the Air Defense Identification Zone around the western coast of Alaska, north of the Aleutian Islands,” NORAD and USNORTHCOM spokesman Canadian Army Maj. Andrew Hennessy said in a statement.
The Russian aircraft were “intercepted and monitored by the F-22s until the bombers left the ADIZ along the Aleutian Island chain heading west,” and never entered US airspace, according to the statement.
This is the first time in a year Russian bombers flew this close to U.S. The last such intercept of Russian aircraft by U.S. jets took place on May 3, 2017.
Kαι η
πηγή, γίδια