Hattip Dr. Steve, who sends me links for the Burg from time to time. Photos and videos of airplanes at the link, along with the rest of the story. Enjoy!
[TheDrive/TheWarZone] The sorties into the Sea of Okhotsk come amid an increase in American and Russian aerial activity around each others' borders.The Russian military sent Su-30 Flanker and Su-35 Flanker-E fighter jets and MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors to monitor two U.S. Air Force B-52H bombers that flew over the Sea of Okhotsk yesterday. This the first time B-52Hs have flown into this body water, which is surrounded on three sides by Russian territory and where American combat aircraft typically have not ventured in the past, in recent memory. This flight also comes nearly a month after a B-1B conducted a long-range training mission along a similar route as part of the implementation of a new concept of operations for U.S. heavy bomber sorties earlier this year.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s National Defense Control Center publicly announced the intercept over the Sea of Okhotsk on June 19, 2020, though it had taken place the day before. Twitter user and good friend of The War Zone @AircraftSpots tracked the two B-52Hs on June 18 as they flew from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska through the Bering Sea and out over the North Pacific.
Eielson is notably not a bomber base. A trio of B-52Hs from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, which is home to the active component 2nd Bomb Wing and the Air Force Reserve 307th Bomb Wing, arrived at the base in Alaska on June 14, as part of a short-term Bomber Task Force deployment. As such, this particular flight not only underscored the ability of the bombers to project power far away from America's borders while operating from bases within the country, it also highlighted how they can first stage themselves at other bases closer to the intended area of operation, as needed.After arriving in the North Pacific for this particular training mission yesterday, the two B-52Hs then alerted air traffic controllers in the region that they would be flying "due regard," or with their transponders off, for approximately two hours, at which time they turned north toward the Sea of Okhotsk. This sea is a sort of giant bay situated between Sakhalin Island to the west, as well as portions of Russia's mainland Far East region to the north, and the Kamchatka Peninsula to the east.
"On June 19, 2020, the air defense quick reaction alert forces of the Eastern Military District spotted and started tracking a pair of US Air Force B-52H bombers over the Sea of Okhotsk," Russia's National Defense Control Center's statement said. "At a considerable distance from the state border of the Russian Federation, the U.S. Air Force planes were continuously tracked by Russian monitoring capabilities. Su-30, Su-35, and MiG-31 fighters from the air defense quick reaction alert forces of the Eastern Military District were scrambled to intercept the targets."
The statement also said that the B-52Hs did not ever appear to make a concerted approach toward Russia's sovereign airspace and remained at least 186 miles from the country's borders throughout the duration of the flight. "The Russian aircraft performed the flights in strict compliance with the international rules of using the airspace over the neutral waters, without violating the borders of other states," the National Defense Control Center added.
Related:
Sea of Okhotsk: 2019-06-28 Volcano, dormant for almost 100 years, erupts in 'spectacular' fashion
Sea of Okhotsk: 2018-05-13 Two US F-22 jets escort Russia’s Tu-95 aircraft -- Russian Defense Ministry
Sea of Okhotsk: 2017-10-29 Massive Russian nuclear war games reported in Arctic
Sea of Okhotsk: 2019-06-28 Volcano, dormant for almost 100 years, erupts in 'spectacular' fashion
Sea of Okhotsk: 2018-05-13 Two US F-22 jets escort Russia’s Tu-95 aircraft -- Russian Defense Ministry
Sea of Okhotsk: 2017-10-29 Massive Russian nuclear war games reported in Arctic