2 Russian bombers approach Alaska; U. S. planes intercept

WASHINGTON — Two Russian long- range bombers flew about 100 miles off the Alaskan coast on Monday night, the first time since President Donald Trump took office that Moscow has sent warplanes so close to the United States, the military said Tuesday.

The two Russian Tu- 95 Bear bombers flew off Kodiak Island, within a 200- mile area called the Air Defense Identification Zone.

The bombers’ flight into that space prompted the Air Force to scramble two F- 22 stealth fighter jets and an E- 3 airborne early- warning plane to intercept the Russian planes, according to 1st Lt. Lauren Hill, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado.

The command monitors air approaches to North America and defends the airspace.

After the U. S. jets flew alongside the Russian bombers for several minutes, the Russian planes broke off and headed back to their base in eastern Russia, Hill said. The interception was first reported by Fox News.

Navy Commander Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman, said the intercept in international airspace was “safe and professional.”

Since 2007, the United States has intercepted Russian warplanes that flew into the air- defense zone about 60 times, all without incident, Hill said.

The last time Russian bombers flew near the United States was July 4, 2015, when a pair of Russian bombers flew off the coasts of Alaska and California, coming as close as 40 miles to Mendocino, Calif.

The interception is another sign of the recent steep decline in relations between Moscow and Washington, after Trump signaled he sought to improve relations between the two rivals.

Last week in Moscow, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said relations with Russia were at a “low point.”