MOSCOW, September 30 (RIA Novosti) -- Two Russian Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers that carried out a routine patrol flight over the Pacific Ocean were shadowed by U.S. fifth-generation fighters, an Air Force spokesman said on Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik said the bombers had spent over 15 hours in flight on Tuesday and were shadowed by two U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft that use stealth technology.
The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is the only fifth-generation fighter aircraft in the world, as well as the most expensive fighter aircraft ever built.
Russian strategic bombers resumed patrol flights over the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans in August 2007, following an order from then-president Vladimir Putin, and are usually shadowed by less sophisticated NATO aircraft.
All flights by Russian aircraft are performed in strict compliance with international law on the use of airspace over neutral waters, without intruding in the airspace of other states, Drik said.
