On Saturday, two pairs of Russian Tupolev Tu-95 bombers approached the
US West Coast, causing the Air Force to scramble to intercept the planes
before they breached US airspace, two senior defense officials told Fox News.
The first incident
reportedly occurred at 10:30 a.m. ET off the coast of Alaska, when Norad
identified the Russian planes and two F-22s hurried to intercept them.
Another incident occurred at 11 a.m. ET off the coast of central
California and was responded to by two F-15s.
The Russian bombers they
intercepted are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, but sources do not
indicate whether they were armed.
The Air Force intercepted the bombers before they entered America's
sovereign air space, which extends 12 miles out from the coast, but the
presence of the bombers is an ominous sign during the heightened
tensions between Russia and the US.
As retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, who formerly commanded the North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) told The Washington Free Beacon: "It's becoming very obvious that Putin is testing Obama and his national-security team."
The type of warfare being teased is reminiscent of the Cold War not only in theory, but in practice.
"These long-range aviation
excursions are duplicating exercises I experienced during the height of
the Cold War when I commanded the Alaska Norad region," McInerney told
The Free Beacon.
(Parfaits via Wikimedia Commons) The Tupolev Tu-95.
Pentagon officials haven't given the exact location of the interceptions, but ABC News cites one official as saying it could have taken place as "far out as 200 miles."
The Pentagon's John Kirby told
The Free Beacon that the US assessed the flight of the Russian bombers
as another training activity.
Since the start of the crisis in Ukraine, Russia has flown
increasingly aggressive aircraft missions throughout Europe and the
Pacific. From May 2014 to September 2014, the US intercepted
Russian bombers over Guam and off the coast of California and Alaska.
In September, two Russian aircraft carried out a mock cruise-missile
attack on the US.
Throughout 2014, the European Leadership Network estimated
that Russia and the West had up to 40 military encounters. Among these,
three were designated as high-risk incidents that could have led to
casualties or a military confrontation.
In April, Adm. Bill Gortney, the general at the head of Norad, told reporters that Russia was using its long-range bomber fleet to "message" the US about Moscow's international military capabilities.
"They are messaging us. They are
messaging us that they are a global power," Gortney said, noting that
the US did "the same sort of thing" to Russia in Europe.
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