(ANTIMEDIA) — Nothing warms up a cold war quite like a long-range nuclear bomber flying along Russia’s border, so when the U.S. flew its infamous B-52 above the Baltic Sea on Tuesday morning, the Russians scrambled their own fighter jet to intercept the U.S. warplane.
The Pentagon has confirmed a report from Russian news agency TASS that a U.S. B-52 “Stratofortress” strategic bomber was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 fighter jet along the Russian border at 10:00 local time Tuesday morning (3:00 pm EST).
Built to launch nuclear weapons, a B-52 flying so close to Russia may reasonably alarm the average person, but U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Laura M. Seal referred to the flight as a “routine mission” in an emailed statement to Anti-Media. Seal also downplayed the Russian intercept as being one of “a number of intercepts that take place on a regular basis.”
“The vast majority” of such intercepts “are conducted in a safe manner,” she added.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed the Russian Su-27 jet escorted the B-52 until it changed direction, away from the Russian border, TASS reported.
The B-52 was still in the air by Tuesday afternoon, and the crew had not yet been debriefed on the matter, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told Fox News.
Reuters characterized Moscow’s mood as “unimpressed” with the situation.
Russia scrambles again, intercepts Norway military jet near the Barents Sea
Two-and-a-half hours after that intercept, Russia scrambled another jet, a MiG-31, to escort a Royal Norwegian Air Force anti-submarine P-3 Orion warplane flying along Russian airspace near the Barents Sea, Reuters reported.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Norwegian jet was “visually identified,” as its transponders were switched off, the Moscow-funded RT news agency reported. There is no formal agreement between NATO and Russia on the use of transponders, which allow for radar detection.
Norwegian Joint Headquarters senior spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ivar Moen denied any “intercept” by Russia, CNN reported. Moen reportedly stressed that the interaction between the two aircraft was “normal.”
Norway is one of NATO’s original 12 members. The U.S.-led military alliance founded in 1949 now counts 29 member states. While NATO treats Russia as an existential threat, the opposite is also true, and U.S.-Russian relations, in particular, have worsened in recent years.
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