Days after downing an American Reaper drone, a Russian fighter jet on Monday intercepted two US B-52 nuclear bombers over the Baltic Sea.
Russia said it detected ‘two air targets’ flying towards its air space. The incident came as Russia flew two of its own nuclear bombers over the Sea of Japan.
Russia’s defence ministry said that a single Su-35 intercepted the B-52 strategic bombers that were flying in the direction of the Russian border on Monday, but that it returned to base after they moved away.
The development came as Moscow said it had flown two of its own nuclear bombers over the Sea of Japan for more than seven hours.
Earlier this month, a Russian fighter jet collided with an American drone over the Black Sea.
The US Army said two Russian Su-27 aircraft conducted “an unsafe and unprofessional intercept” with a US Air Force’s unmanned MQ-9 aircraft that was operating within international airspace over the Black Sea.
One of the Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing US forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters, the US European Command said in a statement.
US Air Force General James Hecker, who oversees the country’s Air Force in the region, said that America’s MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9.
