Russian bombers intercepted off Alaska for 2nd time this month

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Two Russian long-range bomber crafts were identified and intercepted by a pair of US F-22 fighter jets near northwest American state Alaska on Tuesday, according to a statement by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

The Russian bombers never entered the US or Canadian airspace, the statement read.

This is the second time this month that the Russian strategic bombers saw flying over Alaska. On Sept. 1, a pair of Russian bombers were intercepted by F-22 fighters – scrambled by NORAD – after crossing into the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, south of the Aleutian Islands around noon.

Moscow confirmed the weekend's intercept, claiming they were just conducting routine flights and did not cross into Canadian or United States sovereign airspace at any time.

"The two Russian TU-95 bomber aircraft were intercepted and monitored by the F-22s until the bombers left the ADIZ along the Aleutian Island chain heading west," Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement to TASS, a Russian media. "At some stages of the route, the aircraft of Russia's Aerospace Forces were escorted by two F-22 fighter jets of the US Air Force."

Earlier in May, Russia's Tu-95 strategic bombers and Tu-142 anti-submarine aircraft jets were escorted by two US F-22 fighters when they flew over the neutral waters of the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk on a routine flight, which had also confirmed by Moscow.