Russian Fighter Jet Confronts US Bomber Training with NATO Forces in the Baltic Sea

F-22 Patrol Flight Near Alaska Against Russian Bombers
Clashes Continue in Various Areas Since Trump's Withdrawal from Open Skies Treaty

Russian Su-27 fighter jet Photo by Russian Ministry of Defense website/www.mil.ru

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] It has been reported that a Russian fighter jet conducted a close patrol flight while confronting a U.S. bomber engaged in joint exercises with NATO forces near the Baltic Sea. Earlier, near Alaska, a U.S. fighter jet approached a Russian bomber for a patrol flight, and since the U.S. withdrew from the Open Skies Treaty, military tensions between the two countries have been escalating in various locations.

According to Russia's TASS news agency, on the 15th (local time), the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet was scrambled to confront and conduct a patrol flight against a U.S. Air Force B-52H bomber and a NATO reconnaissance aircraft conducting joint operations near the Russian border over international waters in the Baltic Sea. The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that the U.S. bomber and NATO reconnaissance aircraft were participating in the "Baltops 2020" maritime joint exercise involving 17 NATO member countries.

Earlier, on the 10th, a Russian Tu-95MS bomber conducting flight training over international waters near Alaska was closely patrolled by a U.S. Air Force F-22 fighter jet. At the end of last month, when the U.S. Air Force's main strategic bomber, the B-1B, flew over the Black Sea near the Russian border, Russian fighter jets conducted patrol flights, marking a series of aerial tensions between the two countries.

The intensification of tensions between the two countries' fighter jets began after U.S. President Donald Trump indicated on the 21st of last month that the U.S. would withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty (OST) between the U.S. and Russia. The OST is a treaty that allows signatory countries to conduct unarmed aerial observation flights over each other's territories and was signed in 1992, with 34 countries including the U.S., Russia, and Canada as members. However, President Trump unilaterally declared withdrawal, accusing Russia of not complying with the treaty. In response, Russia retaliated by conducting close threat flights near a U.S. Navy maritime patrol aircraft over the Mediterranean on the 26th of last month, continuing the military tensions between the two countries.

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