MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia scrambled a fighter jet on Tuesday to intercept a nuclear-capable U.S. B-52 strategic bomber it said was flying over the Baltic Sea near its border, in an incident that had echoes of the Cold War. The Su-27 of the Russian Baltic Fleet was deployed in response and shadowed the American aircraft after identifying it, as the bomber was flying in neutral airspace over the Baltic Sea along the border, the ministry said.After the American warplane left the airspace near Russia, the Russian fighter jet returned to its base of deployment, the statement said.The interception comes amid NATO's continued string of training exercises near the Russian border. A Russian Sukhoi-27 of the Russian Baltic Fleet was "dispatched to intercept the target" and "approached the aircraft staying at a safe distance, identified it as a US strategic bomber B-52 and escorted it for some time", the Russian media quoted the ministry as saying. The Su-27 was dispatched from Baltic Fleet air defense, which is located in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, and intercepted the B-52, remaining in close proximity to it until the bomber changed course and flew away from the Russian border. In a separate incident, a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet was dispatched Tuesday to intercept a Norwegian maritime surveillance aircraft flying over the Barents Sea near the Russian border, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Russian officials complained that the US has been deploying more B-52s in the region recently, warning it was not helping to deescalate tensions in Eastern Europe, and former Air Force Commander Pyotr Deinekin insisted the proximity of the nuclear-capable bomber to Russia’s coast raises troubling questions, irrespective of if it turns out it was armed with nuclear weapons or not.
A Russian SU-27 fighter jet intercepts an American B-52 strategic bomber that was flying over international waters of the Baltic Sea parallel to the Russian border, and escorts the B-52 until it flew away from the border area. The United States military confirmed that the US Air Force B-52 was operating in international airspace, but had no further comment about the incident.