Breaking: Nuclear-Capable Russian Bomber Jets Fly Near Alaska Again

On Monday night, the U.S. Air Force scrambled two F-22 stealth fighters to intercept a pair of Russian nuclear-capable bombers which came as close as 100 miles from Alaska’s Kodiak Island.

This was the first time since President Trump took office that Moscow has sent bombers so close to the U.S.

Now it has happened again – and this time, the bombers came closer, reports Fox News:

For the second consecutive night, Russia flew two long-range bombers off the coast of Alaska on Tuesday, this time coming within 36 miles of the mainland while flying north of the Aleutian Islands, two U.S. officials told Fox News.

The two nuclear-capable Tu-95H bombers were spotted by U.S. military radar at 5 p.m. local time.

Unlike a similar incident Monday night, this time the U.S. Air Force did not scramble any fighter jets.

Instead, it launched a single E-3 Sentry early warning aircraft, known as AWACS, to make sure there were only the two Russian bombers flying near Alaska, and not other aircraft flying underneath the large bombers.

Before the incidents this week, the last time Russian bombers flew near the U.S. was July 4, 2015, when a pair of Russian bombers flew off the coasts of Alaska and California, coming as close as 40 miles to Mendocino, Calif. Russian President Vladimir Putin called then-President Barack Obama to wish him a happy Independence Day while the bombers cruised the California coastline.