Russian fighter jet forces NATO fighter jet to change direction

Russian Su-27 or Su-35S fighters approached, forcing NATO fighter jets to change direction while escorting strategic bombers patrolling the Arctic.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced today that Tu-22M3, Tu-95MS and Tu-160 strategic bombers have conducted a series of flights in international airspace over the Baltic, Barents, Norwegian, East Siberian, Chukchi, Beaufort and Arctic Ocean seas.

"The longest flight lasted more than 7 hours. Su-35S, Su-27 and MiG-31 fighters of the Russian Air Force and Naval Aviation escorted the bomber formations. Russian aircraft always strictly adhered to international regulations on the use of airspace," the agency said.

Russian fighter jet forces NATO fighter jet to change direction

Russian bombers and fighters on a flight over the Arctic on August 14. Video : Zvezda

Video released by Russian military television shows NATO fighters maintaining a safe distance and continuously following the bomber formation. At times, Su-27 or Su-35S fighters inserted themselves in between and tilted their wings to change direction, forcing the enemy to move away from the target.

UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey announced on the same day that the country had deployed Typhoon fighter jets to monitor two Russian bombers in international airspace north of Scotland. "Pilots are always ready to deal with any potential threat to UK territory," he said.

NATO regularly scrambles fighter jets to monitor Russian bomber formations in areas such as the Baltic and Black Seas, but both sides usually maintain a safe distance to avoid collisions.

Location of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and the seas around the Arctic. Graphic: Britanica

The Arctic still holds vast reserves of oil and gas. Climate change is melting the region’s ice, opening up opportunities for fossil fuel extraction and opening up new shipping routes between continents around the Arctic.

Russia has been bolstering its military presence in the Arctic since before launching its operation in Ukraine in February 2022. It has renovated several Soviet-era bases in the region and deployed additional weapons and the S-400 long-range air defense system.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 12 that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected the Arctic garrisons and the protection of “critical infrastructure.” Among the sites he visited was the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, a former Soviet nuclear weapons testing site that is now the site of “high-level assessments of a number of weapons and military equipment.”

Vu Anh (According to Zvezda, Reuters )

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