The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation confirmed that strategic Tu-95MS long-range aviation bombers carried out a scheduled 13-hour mission over the international waters of the Bering and Okhotsk seas, in the country’s Far East, on September 24, 2025.
According to the official statement published together with a video on the Russian ministry’s Telegram channel, the aircraft were escorted by multirole fighters Su-35S and Su-30SM, and also conducted in-flight refuelling during the operation.
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The ministry highlighted that, at certain stages, the Russian aircraft were accompanied by foreign fighters, stressing that all flights followed “strictly the international rules for use of airspace.”
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Reaction from the U.S. and Canada
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) reported that it detected and tracked two Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighters inside Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
In response, an E-3 early warning aircraft, four F-16 fighters and four KC-135 tanker aircraft were mobilized to monitor and intercept the Russian aircraft.
In a statement, NORAD clarified:
“Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter the sovereign airspace of the United States or Canada. This type of activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and does not represent a threat.”
Regular patrols
The Russian Ministry of Defence stated that long-range bomber missions are routinely carried out over neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Pacific, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea.
NORAD, meanwhile, stressed that the ADIZ is not defined by international treaties but functions as an additional military monitoring zone, allowing more reaction time in case of potential hostile actions.
Source and images: Telegram @mod_russia | NORAD. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
