Russia scrambled two Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets to escort a pair of US 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 US secretary of defence.
The supersonic US 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 US 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 US aircraft in flight.—Reuters
