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.
