Russian Tu-95MS bombers conduct 7-hour patrol over Barents and Norwegian Seas

Two Russian strategic Tu-95MS nuclear missile carriers conducted a scheduled flight over the neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian Seas, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

"Strategic Tu-95MS missile carriers of the Russian Aerospace Forces' long-range aviation conducted a scheduled flight in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian Seas. The flight duration was more than 7 hours," the ministry said in a statement.

During the flight, the crews of the strategic Tu-95MS missile carriers practiced in-flight refueling, it said, adding that fighter escort was provided by crews of Su-30SM aircraft of the Aerospace Forces.

The ministry noted that fighter jets from foreign countries escorted the Tu-95MS at certain stages of the route.

It added that long-range aviation crews regularly conduct flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, the North Atlantic, the Pacific Ocean, and the Baltic and Black Seas.

All flights of Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft are carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace, the ministry stressed.