Reuters
Russia scrambles fighter jets to escort U.S. strategic bombers over Black Sea
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia scrambled two Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets to escort a pair of U.S. B-1B strategic bombers over the Black Sea, Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday, an incident that coincided with a visit to the region by the U.S. secretary of defense. The supersonic U.S. Cold war-era planes were originally designed to carry nuclear bombs and missiles but now carry conventional payloads. “Russian fighter crews identified the aerial targets as two U.S. Air Force supersonic strategic B-1B bombers, accompanied by two KC-135 refuelling planes, and escorted them over the waters of the Black Sea,” the defence ministry said in a statement accompanied by video footage of the U.S. aircraft in flight.
