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Two Russian Strategic Bombers Intercepted by US Fighters Off Alaska – Reports
from Sputnik News:
Regular air patrolling by the Russian planes over neutral waters in seas and oceans around the world is carried out in strict accordance with international regulations on the use of airspace.
US F-22 stealth fighters intercepted a pair of Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers in international airspace off the coast of Alaska, CNN reported, citing a statement by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on Friday.
According to the report, the nuclear-capable Russian bombers allegedly strayed into the North American Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), which covers an area of roughly 200 miles off the western coast of Alaska.
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, NORAD and USNORTHCOM spokesman Canadian Army Maj. Andrew Hennessy said in a statement.
He added that the Russian bombers had not violated US airspace, the CNN reported without elaborating any further.
The Russian Defense Ministry earlier said that Tu-95 long-range bombers and long-range Tu-142 antisubmarine planes had flown over neutral waters of the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk practicing refueling in mid-air.
