Russian Su-35 Fighters Escort Tu-95 Strategic Bombers During 13 Hour Patrol Off U.S. Airspace

Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers have conducted 13 hour flight in the Bering and Chukchi seas, remaining airborne for more than 13 hours while receiving aerial refuelling and escorts from Su-35S fighters. The Russian Defence Ministry announced the mission on October 26, stating that foreign fighter aircraft accompanied the bombers during certain portions of their route. The ministry said the flight was conducted in accordance with international rules governing the use of airspace. The mission took place in waters between Russia’s Far East and Alaska. The Tu-95MS forms the backbone of the Russian strategic bomber force, with the aircraft procured from the late 1980s, and having bee modernised from the mid-2010s to the Tu-95MSM standard which includes integration of modern Kh-101/2 radar evading cruise missiles. 

The Su-35, and the older Su-27 on which the design is closely based, have been involved in multiple close encounters with American fighters. One of the most notable in September 2024 saw a Su-35 make a threatening approach to a U.S. Air Force F-16, after the American fighter was scrambled to intercept on a pair of Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers off the coast of Alaska. Footage of the incident shows the Su-35, which was escorting the bombers at the time, cutting in front of and across the F-16’s path at very close range, in what has been referred to by some sources as a ‘headbutting’ manoeuvre. Russian sources referred to the manoeuvre as having “highlighted the pilot’s extreme courage,” with the dangers involved seen as a show of resolve to the United States.

When operating over Syria, Su-35s have in turn at times conducted aggressive manoeuvres near American MQ-9 Reaper drones, which in one incident in July 2023 resulted in severe damage to one of the drones. These encounters have consistently occurred within Syrian airspace, which U.S. and other Western aircraft violate daily. Beyond Syria, in March 2023 a Russian Su-27 conducted similar manoeuvres near a Reaper near Crimea causing it to crash. U.S. aircraft have also made multiple close approaches to Russian fighters over Syria, with Su-35s often targeted. These encounters reflect the broader state of tensions between the world’s two largest nuclear weapons states.