Media: Russian bombers invaded the US air defense zone
Two Russian strategic bomber Tu-95 invaded the US air defense identification zone over Alaska. It is reported by The Washington Free Beacon, citing representatives of the Pentagon.
The incident occurred on April 22. American fighters to intercept the bombers in the air did not rise. The air defense identification zone is not a sovereign airspace of any state.
The invasion of Tu-95 (according to the NATO classification, Bears - “Bears”) into the US air defense zone, which the US military views as a signal of the beginning of the spring exercise cycle with the participation of Russian long-range aviation (YES), was the first such case this year.
Last year, according to the representative of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), Captain Jeff Davis, six cases were recorded in which American or Canadian fighters took off to intercept Russian bombers, and Russian YES planes invaded to the US air defense zone.
Currently, the Tu-95MS along with the Tu-22М3 and Tu-160 aircraft form the basis of the combat power of the YES. In total, the Russian Air Force has approximately 120 Tu-22М3, 64 Tu-95MS and 16 Tu-160 aircraft. Machines of these types will remain in service until the 2020-30-ies, after which they must be replaced by a bomber of a new generation, developed in the framework of the project PAK DA (Promising Aviation Complex of Long-Range Aviation).
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