The U.S. Air Force scrambled two F-22 stealth fighters on Monday night to intercept a pair of Russian nuclear-capable bombers which came as close as 100 miles from Alaska's Kodiak Island, Fox reports. This was the first time since President Trump took office that Moscow has sent bombers so close to the U.S.
The two Russian Tu-95 “Bear” tactical bombers flew roughly 280 miles southwest of Elmendorf Air Force Base, within the Air Defense Identification Zone of the United States. The U.S. Air Force promptly scrambled two F-22 stealth fighter jets and an E-3 airborne early warning plane to intercept the Russian bombers.
The American jets flew alongside the Russian bombers for 12 minutes, before the Russian bombers reversed course and headed back to their base in eastern Russia.
An official quoted by the Washington Examiner said that while TU-95s are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, the planes involved in Monday’s incident did not appear armed. The interception was conducted in a “safe and professional” manner, the official added, as the bombers did not violate U.S. airspace or break international norms.
Monday’s incident comes amid escalating tension between Russia and the U.S., particularly over Syria’s ongoing civil war. Trump’s decision to strike Assad’s government earlier this month put the U.S. at odds with Russia, which has long supported Assad. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that the chemical attack was staged.
Lavrov also said that another U.S. military strike in Syria could prompt “grave consequences not only for regional but global security.” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said earlier this month that U.S.-Russia relations have hit “a low point” following the strike. The top U.S. diplomat added that “improvement in the long-term relationship” between both nations is required to resolve the conflict in Syria.
Russia has unveiled a new Arctic military base capable of housing 150 troops as well as nuclear-ready warplanes.
The triangular complex, painted in the red, white and blue of the Russia's tricolor flag, has been built in remote Alexandra Land in the Franz Josef Archipelago.
While parts of the base remain top secret, military chiefs have offered a glimpse at the interior of the building.
It comes as part of Russia's largest Arctic military push since the fall of the Soviet Union and as Moscow moves to lay claim to the region's huge oil and gas reserves - believe to be worth as much as £23trillion.
The five-storey complex, named Nagursky by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, is on the extreme north of Russia's Arctic frontier.
It will hold 150 troops able to survive autonomously in subzero conditions for 18 months.
Officials have said they may deploy military jets there. MiG-31 fighters, designed to shoot down long-range bombers, or the SU-34, a frontline bomber are seen as options, it has been reported.
RUSSIA has claimed it can disable the entire US Navy in one fell swoop using powerful electronic signal jamming.
A news report from the country – where the media is essentially controlled by the state – said the technology could render planes, ships and missiles useless.
The newsreader says: “Today, our Russian Electronic Warfare (REW) troops can detect and neutralise any target from a ship’s system and a radar, to a satellite.”
The news report claims a single Russian war plane flew several times around American destroyer the USS Donald Cook in the Black Sea several years ago, disabling its systems and leaving it helpless.
The report also claims they are capable to creating electronic jamming domes over their bases that make them invisible on radar screens.
The propaganda piece even quotes top US General Frank Gorenc as saying: “Russian electronic weapons completely paralyse the functioning of American electronic equipment installed on missiles, aircraft and ships.”
The reporter adds: “You don’t need to have expensive weapons to win – powerful radio-electronic jamming is enough.”
The news comes after Donald Trump dispatched the USS Carl Vinson, powered by nuclear reactors, carrying almost 100 aircraft and accompanied by destroyers, a cruiser, and a submarine to the Korean Peninsula.
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