Downward angle icon An icon in the shape of a downward angle. A B-52H Stratofortress. HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Moscow said it had scrambled fighter jets to intercept two US bombers approaching the Russian border. The Russian Defense Ministry said the two B-52H bombers “withdrew” as the fighter jets approached. The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range heavy bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a Telegram post that Russian fighter jets had been scrambled to intercept two U.S. B-52H bombers approaching the border.
“Russian airspace control systems have detected a group of aerial targets over the Barents Sea approaching the border of the Russian Federation,” the post read.
MiG-29 and MiG-31 fighter jets were deployed to intercept the bombers and “prevent border violations.”
As the jets approached, the bomber “adjusted its flight course” and made a U-turn and flew away from the state line, the agency said.
“The Russian plane returned safely to its home airfield. There was no border violation,” it added.
This is not the first time that the Russian government has said it has blocked Western aircraft from crossing Russia’s borders in the Barents Sea, off the northern coast of Russia and Norway.
The Russian Defense Ministry told the TASS news agency that a MiG-29 fighter jet intercepted a Norwegian P-8A Poseidon aircraft as it approached the Russian border in August last year.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the plane retreated after approaching Russian MiG fighter jets.
In March, Russian MiG-31s were scrambled to intercept two U.S. B-1B strategic bombers in the region, according to TASS.
The Ministry of Defense again announced that the bombers had withdrawn.
NATO said its air forces in Europe scrambled more than 300 times in 2023 to intercept Russian planes attempting to enter the alliance’s airspace.
“In NATO’s eastern flank, Russian aircraft have a history of not transmitting transponder codes indicating their position and altitude, not filing flight plans or not communicating with air traffic controllers,” NATO said, noting that most encounters between NATO fighter jets and Russian aircraft had been “safe and professional”.
It added that “violations of NATO airspace by Russian aircraft remain rare and generally brief.”
Business Insider has reached out to the US Air Force for comment.
B-52H Stratofortress. Photo by U.S. Air Force Sgt. Greg Steele
B-52H Stratofortress
The Stratofortress is a multi-role, long-range, heavy bomber capable of flying to altitudes of up to 50,000 feet.
According to the U.S. Air Force, the B-52 can carry both conventional and nuclear weapons and is designed to conduct “strategic strike, air interdiction, and offensive air and maritime operations.”
The force says B-52s dropped 40 percent of all ordnance used by coalition forces during Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War, in which the U.S. and its allies dropped 88,500 tons of bombs.
The Air Force describes the plane as the “core component” of the U.S. strategic bomber force.
