Russian bombers buzz North American airspace ahead of Norad birthday bash
OTTAWA — Talk about crashing the party a little early.
Two long-range Russian bombers were intercepted in international airspace off the coast of Alaska on Friday as Canada and the U.S. were preparing to mark the 60th anniversary of the North American Aerospace Defence Command.
The Tu-95 bombers were met by Alaskan-based F-22 fighter jets and did not enter American or Canadian airspace before flying west along the Aleutian Island chain and away from North America, said Norad spokesman Maj. Andrew Hennessy.
Such Russian bomber flights over the North were a regular occurrence between 2012-14 until they were grounded for several years over safety concerns and are now much more erratic.