Air Force News, news from Iraq - Air Force Times

Elmendorf F-15s intercept Russian bombers

Two F-15 Eagles scrambled from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, on Tuesday to intercept two Russian bombers that had approached the Alaskan coast.

The Russian Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers remained in international airspace and headed back to Russia after being intercepted, said Maj. Allen Herritage, a spokesman for the Alaska region of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD.

“We monitored them, and they went home and we went home,” Herritage said.

Encounters between American and Canadian fighter jets and Russian bombers over the Pacific are common because the countries’ airspaces are in close proximity. Russia has also increased its bomber training and patrol flights in the region in recent months.

In November, two F-22 Raptors intercepted two Russian bombers off the Alaska coast, the first such encounter for the Air Force’s newest fighter jet.