MOSCOW. July 3 (Interfax) - Three Tupolev Tu-142 anti-submarine aircraft performed a routine flight over the neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian Seas and Northeast Atlantic on Friday, the Northern Fleet said.
"The duration of the flight was over 12 hours. Over this time span the aircraft overcame a 7,000-kilometer itinerary," a statement obtained by Interfax said.
"At certain parts of the itinerary the Russian aircraft were accompanied by Norway's F-16 fighters and F-35 aircraft from Keflavik air base in Iceland," the fleet's headquarters said.
Air fighter support for the Tu-142s was provided by Mikoyan MiG-31 aircraft under a combat training program for anti-submarine and fighter aircraft crews, the statement said.
"The pilots practiced flying over a featureless area, coordinated piloting in the absence of radio-location control, and flights in a remote maritime zone. On the way back, the anti-submarine air crews of the Northern Fleet refueled in mid-air from an [Ilyushin] Il-78 of the Russian Aerospace Forces," the statement said.
"The Northern Fleet aircraft operated strictly in accordance with the international rules for airspace use, without violating the borders of foreign states," it said.