Dramatic moment Russian SU-35 fighter jet intercepts two US B-52 nuclear bombers over Baltic Sea days after downing of American Reaper drone
A Russian fighter jet has been scrambled over the Baltic Sea to intercept a pair of US nuclear bombers, just days after an American drone was downed.
Russia’s defence ministry said a single Su-35 intercepted the B-52 strategic bombers that were flying in the direction of the Russian border, but that it returned to base after they moved away. Dramatic footage appeared to confirm the incident.
The development followed the March 14 crash of a US military surveillance drone into the Black Sea after it was intercepted by Russian jets, in the first known direct military encounter between Russia and the US since Russia invaded Ukraine.
‘On March 20, radar facilities of the air defence forces of the Western military district on duty over the Baltic Sea detected two air targets flying in the direction of the Russian Federation’s state border,’ the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.
It said the targets were US Air Force B52H strategic bombers.
A Russian fighter jet has been scrambled over the Baltic Sea to intercept a pair of US nuclear bombers, just days after an American drone was downed
Dramatic footage, purportedly captured from the Su-35, appeared to confirm this on Tuesday. In the video captured from a close-range, it showed one of the two American aircraft soaring above the clouds.
Earlier, the two US planes were seen being escorted by Polish fighter jets.
Russia said a Su-35 fighter jet took to the air in order to prevent a border violation, and added, ‘after the foreign military aircraft moved away from the Russian Federation state border, the Russian fighter returned to its base airfield.’
The ministry said the Su-35’s flight was strictly in line with international rules of the use of airspace. ‘No violation of the state border of the Russian Federation was permitted,’ it said.
