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Norwegian and British fighters scramble to monitor 8 Russian bombers
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 06 - 09 - 2007


Norwegian and British fighters
scrambled Thursday to intercept eight Russian bombers that
neared the Nordic country's territory in the latest show of
air power by the Kremlin, defense officials said, according to AP.
The Russian Tupolev 95 strategic bombers rounded Norway's
northern tip over the Barents Sea and flew south over the
North Atlantic before turning back, Norwegian defense
officials said.
The Russian planes, known as «Bears» in NATO lingo,
stayed inside international air space during the maneuvers,
which officials described as a statement of Russia's
growing military prowess.
«This is a message that Russia is back as a superpower,»
Norwegian Deputy Defense Minister Espen Barth Eide said.
Norway did not see the increased activity as a threat,
«but a signal that Russia wants to be taken seriously by
the West,» the defense minister told The Associated Press.
British defense officials said four Royal Air Force
fighters scrambled to monitor the flight, which did not
enter British territory. After initially being intercepted
by Norwegian aircraft, the Russian planes entered the NATO
area, for which Britain has responsibility, a Defense
Ministry spokesman said.
Lt. Col. John Inge Oeglaend, of the Norwegian Joint
Headquarters, said two Norwegian F-16 fighters were sent up
both times that the Russian aircraft approached the
northern tip of Norway, in keeping with normal practice. He
said it was the third time since mid-July that Norwegian
fighters have scrambled to monitor Russian air maneuvers.
«They followed a normal route in international air
space,» Oeglaend said by telephone from the western Norway
port of Stavanger.
Norway, a member of the NATO alliance, and Russia share
land and ocean borders in the Arctic, including the vast
Barents Sea.
Alliance spokesman James Appathurai said Norway and
Britain launched their quick reaction alert planes _
including interceptor planes, airborne warning planes and
tankers _ «as part of routine NATO procedure.»
«The UK aircraft tracked the Russian bears until they
left the area, presumably back to Russian airspace,»
Appathurai said, adding that the Russians had every right
to carry out the maneuvers. «There is no controversy about
this.»
Russian news agencies quoted air force spokesman Col.
Alexander Drobyshevsky as saying Thursday that Russian
long-range bombers had begun patrols of distant areas of
the globe late Wednesday, in accordance with plans
announced by President Vladimir Putin for a resumption of
the flights.
«In accordance with the confirmed plan, 14 Tu-95MC
strategic bombers on Wednesday evening began regular air
patrols over the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans
involving in-flight refueling,» ITAR-Tass and Interfax
quoted Drobyshevsky as saying.
He said the flights were not violating international
regulations, and that the planes «are flying over neutral
waters, not approaching close to the air borders of foreign
countries,» according to ITAR-Tass.
«About 20 NATO jets were scrambled to escort our
strategic bombers, including F-16s and Tornadoes, but there
were no excesses from the foreign planes,» Interfax quoted
Drobyshevsky as saying.


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