Sources inside the Russian Defense Ministry have confirmed that a Su-27 jet was launched to intercept a long-range B-52 bomber flying over the Baltic Sea.
The Su-27 aircraft, codenamed ‘Flanker’ in NATO nomenclature, shadowed the US warplane on Monday morning until the B-52 left neutral airspace near the Russian border.
The Su-27, manufactured by Sukhoi, is a fixed-wing, twin-engine, air superiority war machine, designed to outmaneuver America’s fourth generation fighter aircraft such as the F-14 Tomcat and the F-15 Eagle.
The incident is the latest is a series of wargames and mid-air interceptions that highlight the inherently dangerous cat-and-mouse game played by the major superpowers on contested airspace.
There has been a significant buildup of American and NATO forces across countries bordering with Russia in recent times, amidst heightened international tensions concerning North Korea, Syria, and their allies.