Russia launches Sukhoi Su-30s, Su-35s, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-31s to intercept US B-52H Stratofortress nuclear bombers

Russia scrambled its Sukhoi Su-30s, Su-35s and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-31 fighter jets on June 19, 2020, after its Eastern Military District radars picked up a fleet of United States of America Air Force B-52H Stratofortress nuclear bombers near its borders over the Sea of Okhotsk. According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, the Eastern Military District launched the Sukhoi Su-30s, Su-35s and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-31s to intercept the US Air Force B-52Hs.

Posting a 35-second long video of the intercept on its Facebook page, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that its combat aircraft carried out the intercept in "strict accordance with International Rules for the Use of Airspace".

"The Eastern MD air defence on-duty forces detected and took under surveillance two US Air Force's B-52H bombers which were carrying out their flight over the neutral waters of the Sea of Okhotsk. To intercept the targets, which were caught up on the radars at a considerable distance from the Russian state borders, several Su-30, Su-35 fighters, and MiG-31 interceptors were deployed. Therefore, there have been no violations of the Russian state borders," the statement by Russia’s Defense Ministry on its Facebook page read.

However, the US Air Force B-52Hs flew at a considerable distance from Russia's airspace. The bombers were tracked during their flight by Russian fighters and radars.

The incident comes just three days after Russian Tupolev Tu-95MS nuclear missile-carrying bombers and Sukhoi Su-35 fighters were tracked near the Alaskan coast by US radars on June 16, 2020, and intercepted by US F-22 Raptor stealth fighters. On June 10, too, US F-22 Raptors had intercepted Russian Tupolev Tu-95 bombers and Sukhoi Su-35 jets close to their country's airspace.

The June 10, 2020, intercept is reported to be to the closest aerial encounter between the two rival militaries in the last few years as the first Russian bomber-fighter formation of two Tu-95 bombers, two Su-35s and an A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft was just 20 nautical miles (37 kilometres) of the Alaskan coast. The second Russian fleet of two other Tu-95s and an A-50 had come within 32 nm (over 59 km) of the American airspace.