Six Russian military planes intercepted by US off Alaska coast

Updated: May 22, 2019 Published: May 21, 2019

One of two Russian Tu-95 Bear long-range bomber aircraft which neared the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz on Feb. 9, 2008, south of Japan. (U.S. Navy)

U.S. military officials say four Russian bombers and two fighter jets were intercepted off Alaska’s western coast by U.S. aircraft but had not entered U.S. or Canadian air space.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement that its early warning system identified the four Tupolev Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighters.

Two pairs of F-22s fighter jets met the Russian aircraft on Monday, but further details of the encounter were not provided.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said on Twitter that the U.S. planes accompanied the Russian aircraft along part of their route.

The agency said the Russian planes made scheduled sorties over the neutral waters of the Chukotka, Bering and Okhotsk seas, as well as along the western coast of Alaska and the northern coast of the Aleutian Islands.