MOSCOW. July 5 (Interfax-AVN) - Four Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bombers of the Russian Air Force stationed on the Ukrainka airfield in the Amur region and Yelizovo in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky have had a successful flight above neutral waters of the northeastern Pacific, Air Force spokesman Vladimir Drik told Interfax-AVN on Thursday.
"Two pairs of the Long-Range Aviation aircraft spent 13 and 20 hours in the air. Two F-15 fighters of the U.S. Air Force were accompanying them above the neutral waters," Drik said.
The Tu-95MS crews practiced flights above unmarked terrain and received in-flight refueling from Il-78 tanker planes in order to reach the western coasts of the Aleut Islands and patrol waters along the Alaskan coast.
The flights fully complied with the international rules of use of the air space above neutral waters and did not trespass foreign borders, Drik said.