MOSCOW: Russia said it scrambled a Su-27 jet to “prevent violations of the state border” by the two United States Air Force strategic bombers flying over the Baltic Sea.
According to AL Jazeera, The Defence Ministry of Russia said that the army had prevented any border violation by the United States planes and “the flight of the Russian jet was carried out in strict accordance with global rules for the use of airspace.”
The defence ministry said, “After removing the foreign aircraft from the Russian state border, the Russian fighter jet returned to its air base.”
It said, “The Russian fighter crew classified the aerial targets as two United States Air Force B-1B strategic bombers.”
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder confirmed on Tuesday that United States aircrafts were intercepted by Russia, saying the B-1 bombers fighter were taking part in a planned exercise in the Russian and Europe fighter’s interaction with the United States planes “safe and professional”.
He said, “So we do have two B-1 bombers fighter that is part of the bomber task force… that we regularly fly around the globe in various countries. This is a long-planned exercise in Europe, and I understand it was a safe and professional interaction with Russian aircraft. So nothing significant to report on that front.”
The Russian interception of the United States bombers is new in a series of aerial interactions involving Russian, United States and NATO military aircraft amid a tussle in relations following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
In March, the United States surveillance drone crashed into the Black Sea after it was intercepted by Russian jets in international airspace.
The United States military said it was forced to ditch the MQ-9 Reaper drone in the sea after one of the Russian fighter jets struck the drone’s propeller.
