Russian Fighter Jet Intercepts US Nuke Bombers Near Border Following Drone Clash
US nuclear bombers were intercepted by a Russian fighter jet just days after an American drone was dramatically shot down.
Su-35 footage shows the aircraft flying alongside one of two massive B-52 bombers as they approach Russian airspace for the first time since the drone clash.
Before the B-52s were intercepted by Vladimir Putin’s aircraft, a photograph shows them being escorted over the Baltic Sea by Polish F-16 jets.
Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on a U.S. Reaper drone before crashing into it above the Black Sea.
In the most recent incident, Russia’s defense ministry reported that its radar detected two targets identified as US Air Force B-52H bombers, according to the state-run TASS news agency.
According to the defense ministry, a Su-35 fighter jet took to the skies to prevent a border violation.
After “the foreign military aircraft left the state border of the Russian Federation,” the Russian fighter jet returned to its base airfield.
During Monday’s incident, the Su-35’s flight strictly adhered to international rules governing the use of airspace, the ministry added.
It stated that no violations of the state border of the Russian Federation were permitted.
The Russians did not disclose the origin of the Su-35s, but it is known that some of them are based in Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave on the Baltic.
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Flightradar24 depicts the plane taking off from a Spanish base, flying over Sweden, and then entering international airspace, where it was intercepted.
The aircraft proceeded to Estonian airspace before returning over the Baltic Sea.
The website explained that one plane appeared because its location transponder was activated, while the other most likely turned it off to avoid collision warnings.
During last week’s conflict, a Russian Su-27 jet struck the MQ-9 Reaper drone’s propeller, causing it to crash into the ocean.
Tuesday, the drone was shot down as it flew near Russian-occupied Crimea and the Ukrainian frontline.
Before the 7 a.m. local time collision, two Su-27s “dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9” in a “reckless” and “unprofessional” manner, according to the US military.
US European Command has released video footage of the current situation.
It depicts one of the Russian fighter jets zooming toward the unmanned aerial vehicle before flying above it and dumping fuel on it.
US military personnel in Germany viewed a live feed from the drone as Russian jets repeatedly flew around it and dumped fuel in an attempt to damage its cameras and sensors.
Senior American officials have been concerned for months that an incident involving the Black Sea could result in miscommunication and conflict.
After its fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the drone near Crimea, according to the Russians, it made a sharp turn and crashed into the water.
Moscow denied its warplanes made contact with the drone and insisted they did not fire their weapons in an act of war to shoot it down.
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The region has been the scene of intense NATO military activity and is close to the front lines of the Ukraine conflict.
Reportedly, the Russians claimed victory in the race to retrieve the drone from a depth of 3,000 feet beneath the Black Sea.
The downing of the drone is part of Russia’s pattern of increasingly dangerous behavior, which experts fear could spark a wider conflict.
The RAND Corporation, a research organization in the United States, has compiled a report detailing hundreds of such incidents in recent years, which they refer to as “coercive signaling.”
This is intended to send a message to the United States and other NATO planes and ships by engaging in “unsafe and unprofessional” behavior, with Russian aircraft becoming increasingly armed.
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