Interesting article from the Washington Times.
Russian strategic bombers conducted flights near the U.S. defense zone close to northern Alaska and the Aleutian Islands last week, Moscow’s latest incident of nuclear saber-rattling against the United States, according to defense and military officials.
Two Bear H nuclear-capable bombers were detected flying into the military’s Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone near the Aleutians, where a strategic-missile-defense radar is located, and along Alaska’s North Slope by the Arctic and Chukchi seas on April 28 and 29, military officials told the Washington Free Beacon.
Lt. Cmdr. Bill Lewis, a spokesman with the U.S. Northern Command, confirmed a U.S. fighter intercept of the bombers but declined to provide details.
“Two U.S. F-22’s from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, were launched and visually identified Russian aircraft on the night of April 28, as the Russian air force flew standard out-of-area flights near Alaska,” Lt. Cmdr. Lewis said. The bombers did not enter U.S. airspace, he said.
However, the Alaska air-defense zone is a formal national security area used by the military to monitor both civilian and military aircraft. The dispatch of F-22s is an indication that the Russian bombers posed a potential threat to U.S. territory.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/6/russian-bombers-again-fly-close-to-us/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS#ixzz2SXjTqUON
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Full Artile: Russian bombers buzz U.S. territory — again – Washington Times.
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