Media reports that Russian bombers fly close to Alaska again
A pair of Russian Tu-95 bombers again flew near to the coast of Alaska, but this time the US Air Force did not send fighter jets to intercept them, reported Fox News, citing a source in the US Defense Department.
“Russian bombers returned to Alaska for a second consecutive night, two Tu-95s were 36 nautical miles (67 kilometers) from the mainland of Alaska,” posted producer Lucas Tomlinson on Twitter. Tomlinson specializes in covering the work of the Pentagon and the State Department.
According to him, the event took place on Tuesday night. Tomlinson's data was confirmed by CNN, which also did not indicate the source of the information.
According to media reports, “the US Armed Forces decided this time not to send fighter jets to intercept the bombers.” Instead, they deployed only an E-3 AWACS early warning radar aircraft.
On Monday, the US Air Force intercepted two Russian Tu-95s in international airspace off the coast of Alaska. Two F-22 fighters and an E-3 aircraft were deployed for the mission. They accompanied the Tu-95s until they left the Air Defense Identification Zone.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the interception, stressing that the Tu-95 flight was in full compliance with international rules and did not violate the borders of other nations.