Two Russian Bombers Fly Near Alaska, and U.S. Scrambles Jets<br />By ERIC SCHMITTAPRIL 18, 2017<br />WASHINGTON — Two Russian long-range bombers flew about 100 miles off the Alaskan coast on Monday night, the first time since President Trump took office<br />that Moscow has sent warplanes so close to the United States, the military said Tuesday.<br />The last time Russian bombers flew near the United States was July 4, 2015, when a pair of Russian bombers flew off the coasts of Alaska<br />and California, coming as close as 40 miles to Mendocino, Calif.<br />The bombers’ flight into that space prompted the Air Force to scramble two F-22 stealth fighter jets<br />and an E-3 airborne early-warning plane to intercept the Russian planes, according to First Lt. Lauren Hill, a spokeswoman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or Norad, in Colorado.<br />Since 2007, the United States has intercepted Russian warplanes<br />that flew into the air defense zone about 60 times, all without incident, Lieutenant Hill said.<br />Last week in Moscow, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson said relations with Russia were at a "low point." Get politics<br />and Washington news updates via Facebook, Twitter and in the Morning Briefing newsletter.<br />After the American jets flew alongside the Russian bombers for several minutes, the Russian planes broke off<br />and headed back to their base in eastern Russia, Lieutenant Hill said.
