Russian TU-95 "Bear" bombers
The Russian TU-95 "Bear" bombers flew into the Air Defense Identification Zone, which extends approximately 200 miles off Alaska's western coast, marking the first time in just over a year that Russian aircraft had flown that close to US territory.
The Russian bombers were "intercepted and monitored by the F-22s until the bombers left the ADIZ along the Aleutian Island chain heading west," NORAD and USNORTHCOM spokesman Canadian Army Maj. Andrew Hennessy said in a statement.
The F-22s monitored the Russian jets until they left the ADIZ along the Aleutian Islands, heading west.
Hennessey said the Russian aircraft never entered North American airspace.
Alaska houses the Pentagon's strategic missile interceptor base at Fort Greely, about 100 miles southeast of Fairbanks.
Moscow has repeatedly expressed concerns about US missile systems that it believes are being deployed around the world to counter Russian missiles.
The Pentagon says US missile systems are not aimed at Russian forces but are designed to counter North Korean ballistic missiles and possibly Iranian long-range missiles.
The last such approach by Russian bombers in the area happened on May 3, 2017.
In June 2012, Russian bombers carried out simulated missile strikes on US missile sites in Alaska as part of a major strategic exercise.
Earlier this month, a Russian fighter jet buzzed a US Navy reconnaissance plane in the Baltic Sea.
As I recall, the TU-95 is a pretty much a Soviet effort to copy the B-52, but which used much louder, but also much more fuel efficient turboprop engines powering four sets of giant contra-rotating propellers powered by giant turboprop engines and which allow it far better fuel efficiency and a twice as long? loiter time. (You can see the contra rotating props in the 'strange' images of the propellers in the photo.)
The Soviets. at the end of WWII,managed to aquire and keep three? B-29s which
arlier created a nearly identical copy of our successful WWII Pacific theater B-29, which, as I recall wereo US planes with damage en route back to Alaska but which could not make it there, so they were left with the choice of ,having to either 'ditch' in the 33 degree F. sea water, or land at a Soviet Air base near Vladivostok. The SU wisely kept them.
As I also recall, they likewise easily copied our B-50 which was, essentially an upscaled B-29.*.
R.C.
* My dad worked on B-26 Invaders during the Korean War, and I've always been interested in airplanes, among many other things.
RC