Russia’s Eastern Military District fighter jets have been scrambled to intercept the U.S. Air Force B-52H long-range, heavy bombers, the Defense Ministry’s National Defense Control Center reported on Friday.
“The Eastern MD air defense on-duty forces detected and took under surveillance two US Air Force’s B-52H bombers which were carrying out their flight over the neutral waters of the Sea of Okhotsk,” according to an update released by the Defense Ministry on Friday.
To intercept the targets, which were caught up on the radars at a considerable distance from the Russian state borders, several Su-30, Su-35 fighters, and MiG-31 interceptors were deployed. Therefore, there have been no violations of the Russian state borders.
No violations of Russia’s state border were allowed, the National Defense Control Center stressed.
“The Russian aircraft performed the flights in strict compliance with the international rules of using the airspace over the neutral waters, without violating the borders of other states,” the National Center said.
The B-52 bomber was built during the Cold War, but currently, aircraft upgrade provides 21st century digital capabilities that give the bomber the agility and flexibility needed for the modern battlefield.
