June 7 (UPI) — A Russian fighter plane escorted a U.S. B-52 bomber as it flew along Russia’s border on the Baltic Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The Russian air force identified the B-52H bomber Monday when it was over international water.
A Sukhoi-27 fighter plane was “dispatched to intercept the target,” a ministry statement said. The planes kept apart and at a safe distance, it added.
Two additional U.S. bombers later traveled along the coast with their transponders turned off after leaving an air base in Fairford, England, the independent Russian news agency Interfax said, citing unidentified western sources, It added that the Pentagon is conducting military exercises involving aircraft based in Louisiana’s Barksdale Air Force Base over an area including the Baltic Sea.
There was no comment from U.S. military officials.
Russian planes were spotted flying near Alaska in April, and on one occasion, U.S. fighter jets intercepted a plane.
