Tu-95MS aircraft, which can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, routinely accompany Sukhoi Su-35 fighters on their “foreign missions” as protection. According to the TASS agency, “foreign aircraft took off” to Russian strategic bombers over the Bering and Chukchi Seas.
“At certain stages of the overflight, the Tu-95MS had foreign fighter jets as ‘escorts,'” the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
Tupolevs operating near the Alaska Identification Zone were detected by the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), msn.com reported. They did not enter either American or Canadian airspace, but they were moving exactly where international airspace ends and where planes are required to provide identification and other data for safe flight.
The Soviet-era practice of sending strategic bombers on “regular patrols” beyond Russia’s borders was revived by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2007. Since then, Russian long-range aviation has been seen over the waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Black and Baltic Seas.
Putin flew in a modernized bomber capable of carrying nuclear missiles
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