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Dramatic encounter over the Arctic: A US F-16 fighter jet intercepted two Russian bombers. The message from this incident should be clear.
Washington/Moscow – Vladimir Putin’s saber rattling does not stop at the immediate sphere of influence of the USA, apart from the fighting in the Ukraine war: As has now become known, US armed forces intercepted Russian aircraft that flew to the US on Thursday evening (May 2nd). -Airspace have come very close.
According to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad), the planes are said to have entered North America’s so-called air defense identification zone. There are now more detailed details about the incident, in which an F-16 fighter jet was also used.
US F-16 fighter jet intercepts Russian planes over the Arctic
Two bombers from Russia were intercepted off Alaska by a US F-16 fighter jet from the so-called “attack squadron”. The “Attack Squadron”’s sole mission is to pose and fly as enemy aircraft to conduct air combat training.
“Although Russian Air Forces never entered U.S. or Canadian airspace, integrated air defense units were able to identify a number of Russian Tu-95 heavy bombers participating in an annual Russian air force exercise near the coasts of Alaska and Canada said Major General Brett Cairns, Norad’s director of operations, about the incident.
Interesting detail: the US F-16 that intercepted the Tu-95 was painted in a special color scheme that can be seen on some units of Russian and Chinese jets. The F-16 fighter jet was armed with two AIM-120C/D Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) on the wingtips and two AIM-9L/M/S on the outer pylons.
Putin regime with a show of force: Russia emphasizes – Tu-95 bomber did not violate US airspace
Moscow has now also commented on the incident. The Tu-95 remained over international airspace and did not enter American territory, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The message from this incident should still be clear: it was a show of force.
Moscow also said that “two Tu-95M long-range bombers” had conducted a “routine flight over the international waters of the Bering Sea near the western coast of Alaska.” Su-30SM fighter jets served as “escort fighters”.
F-16 fighter jet takes off: Russia describes incident as an “escort” for long-range bombers
During the flight, which lasted more than eleven hours, the long-range bombers were escorted “by fighter aircraft from foreign countries” along “certain stages of the route” – an obvious reference to the US F-16 fighter jet. By the way: There have already been similar incidents over the Baltic Sea in which NATO fighter jets were used.
The Pentagon confirmed in a statement that four Russian aircraft had entered the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone. “The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” it said in a statement. The Pentagon stated that this type of Russian activity occurs regularly and is not considered a threat. The last time that Russian fighter jets entered the airspace over Alaska was at the beginning of February.
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