U.S. Aircraft Was Flying In International Airspace, Pentagon Says

A USAF B-52 bomber was intercepted over the Baltic Sea Tuesday by a Russian fighter in international airspace, according to a report from the Reuters.

Details of the intercept were not immediately available. Air Force Spokesman Col. Patrick Ryder said that the Pentagon could "confirm that the U.S. Air Force B-52 was operating in international airspace but we don't have any information to provide at this time regarding the behaviour of Russian aircraft."

The Russian interceptor was an SU-27 scrambled from the Baltic Fleet air defense unit in the European enclave of Kaliningrad. The Russian defense ministry said in a statement that "The Russian SU-27 crew, having approached at a safe distance, identified the aircraft as an American B-52 strategic bomber and escorted it" until it changed course and flew away from the border area.

A Russian Foreign Ministry official said that the flight was "disrespectful" and would not help ease growing tensions between Russia and NATO.

Russia regularly flies its nuclear-capable bombers in international airspace close to the U.S. or NATO countries, and NATO fighters are scrambled to intercept them. But Russia took particular exception to this incident. Foreign Ministry official, Mikhail Ulyanov told Russia's state-backed Sputnik news agency that "The fact that NATO forces are converging near Russia's borders and carrying out military exercises supported by strategic bombers from the USA capable of carrying nuclear weapons hardly helps de-escalate tensions in Europe."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.defense.gov