MOSCOW, September 17. /TASS/: Russian MiG-31 fighter jet intercepted two US B-1B strategic bombers over the Bering Sea and escorted the planes until they turned away from the Russian border, the National Defense Control Center told journalists Thursday.
According to the military, on September 17, Russian radars detected two airborne targets, approaching the Russian border, over the neutral waters of the Bering Sea.
"A Pacific Fleet MiG-31 fighter jet was scrambled to identify the targets and prevent them from violating the Russian border. The plane crew identified the targets as two US Air Force B-1B Lancer strategic bombers and escorted them over the Bering Sea waters," the center said.
After the US planes turned away from the Russian border, the Russian plane returned to its home base, the center said, adding that the Russian border was not violated during the incident.
"The entire sortie of the Russian plane took place in accordance with the international air law," the military underscored.
On Tuesday, the Pacific Fleet's MiG-31s and the Eastern Military District's Su-35S planes also intercepted a US Air Force B-1B Lancer over the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk.
