Two Tu-22M3 bombers of Russian long-range aviation carried out scheduled patrols in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, the Telegram channel of the Russian Ministry of Defense reported.
“Fighter escort was provided by the crews of Su-35S aircraft of the Aerospace Forces. The flight duration was about five hours,” the message says.
On September 9, NATO exercise Northern Coasts began in the Baltic Sea, the purpose of which is to practice landing operations and strikes from sea to land. As previously reported, about 30 ships and 3,000 military personnel will take part in the exercises. The German Navy said in early September that the exercise participants would for the first time practice responding to a potential Russian attack.
On August 10, two Russian strategic missile carriers Tu-160 conducted a planned eight-hour flight over the neutral waters of the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean lasting eight hours. On August 15, two Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers carried out a scheduled patrol over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan. In July, Tu-95MS made a scheduled flight near the western coast of Alaska over the neutral waters of the Bering Sea, and in June – over the Barents and Norwegian Seas.