For four consecutive days this past week Russian bombers and spy planes buzzed Alaskan airspace with no apparent reason.
Though defense officials indicated earlier that Russian aircraft in the area is not at all unusual, the Pentagon changed its tune later in the week in a comment admitting that the Russians may be testing our air defenses.
In all four instances, U.S. Air Force fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the Russians out of precaution.
It’s like Top Gun in real life.
Here’s more from Fox News…
Russian Bear bombers and spy planes buzzed Alaskan airspace the past two nights in a repeat of incidents earlier this week, two U.S. officials told Fox News on Friday.
Wednesday night a pair of Russian spy planes Ilyushin IL-38s flew near the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea staying in the U.S. Air Defense Zone for a few hours before departing.
Thursday night, a pair of long-range nuclear-capable Tupolev Tu-95 Bear bombers flew near Alaska and Canada staying in each country’s air defense zone for hours.
Two U.S. Air Force F-22 fighter jets intercepted the bombers, a NORAD spokesman told Fox News without elaborating. The spokesman would not say how close the Russian bombers came to the Alaskan coast or Canada. CF-18 Hornets also participated in the intercept.
Russia now has flown bombers or spy planes near Alaska on four consecutive nights this week, the first time since President Trump took office that Russia has flown this close to the United States. The U.S. Air Force scrambled fighter jets in some of these instances.
Pentagon officials said they believed the Russians were testing the U.S. Air Force’s response to their bomber flights.
