Moscow. August 23. INTERFAX-AVN - The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that Russian strategic missile carriers Tu-95MS conducted many hours of patrol over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan, South Korea lifted fighter jets into the air.
"At certain stages of the route, strategic missile carriers were accompanied by F-16 fighters of the Republic of Korea Air Force," the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.
According to the agency, the flight of two Tu-95MS "strategists" over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan lasted about 7 hours.
"Fighter escort of Tu-95MS aircraft was provided by the crews of the Su-30SM of the Russian Aerospace Forces," the ministry said.
They stressed that "all flights of Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft are carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace."
Pilots of long-range aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces regularly fly over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Pacific, Black and Baltic Seas, the Russian Defense Ministry added.
Tu-95MS and Tu-160 aircraft are the air component of the Russian nuclear triad. They are designed to defeat the most important targets in the deep rear of the enemy with nuclear and conventional weapons.
In November 2017, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov, said that Russia had increased the intensity of strategic aviation flights to the level that was under the USSR. "If we compare the achieved indicators since the Soviet Union, the intensity of long-range aviation flights is maintained at the same level. At the same time, the raid on the crew of the Tu-160 and Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers increased by 10% per year," Gerasimov said at the time.
