U.S. jets intercept Russian bombers off California, Alaska coasts

U.S. jets intercept Russian bombers off California, Alaska coasts

On July 4, two pairs of Russian Tupolev Tu-95 bombers approached the United States (U.S.) West coast, causing the Air Force to scramble to intercept the planes before they breached U.S. airspace.

Fox News reports that the first incident occurred at
10:30 am 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
am 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 or not 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 U.S.

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.

Pentagon officials haven’t given the exact location of
the interceptions, but ABC News cites one official as
saying that it could have taken place as “far out as
200 miles.”

The Pentagon’s John Kirby told the Free Beacon that
they assessed the flight of the Russian bombers as
another training activity.