It has emerged in reports given by US military officials that two Russian Air Force Bear strategic bombers passed over a United States Navy (USN) aircraft carrier over the weekend of 9^th/10^th February.

The pair of Tupolev TU-95s' altitude when overflying the USS Nimitz was 2,000 feet, or 660 metres, the officials said, adding that the act caused the scramble of four USN F/A18 Hornet combat jets, which intercepted the Bear pair.

Japan: Russian Bears Infringed Airspace

The event occurred within roughly the same timeframe as another involving Russian Air Force Bears. As reported here, according to Japanese officials, two of the venerable bombers infringed Japanese airspace, prompting the launch of 22 Japanese Air Self Defence Force combat jets.

Spokesman for the Russian Air Force, Alexander Drobyshevsky, insisted that Japan's airspace had not been violated, and that the patrols had been "carried out in strict accordance with international rules."

First Russian Bomber/ USN Carrier Incident for Four Years

The last time a Russian Air Force bomber overflew a USN aircraft carrier was in 2004, in an incident involving the USS Kittyhawk.

Commenting on this latest flight, one official described how, after having flown south of Japan, the Bears "essentially turned inbound toward the USS Nimitz, and USS Nimitz aircraft launched and intercepted the bombers."

The four F/A18s flew alongside the aircraft until they vacated the scene, the same official stated, adding: "There were no verbal communications between the Nimitz aircraft or the Russian aircraft."

Russian Bombers Patrolled 70+ Times since August '07

The weekend activity by the Russian Bears represents the latest in a series of strategic bomber patrol missions to have occurred since August 2007. Late last year, Armed Forces International reported that, over a four-month period, more than 70 such flights had taken place.

It is not yet known whether the US has lodged any form of complaint with Russia over the latest incident.

The US' plan to set up a Missile Defence Shield over parts of Europe has done much to antagonise American/Russian relations in recent months.

Source - Armed Forces International's Aviation Expert

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