2 Russian strategic bombers carry out training flight over Sea of Japan

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia said on Tuesday that two Tu-95MS strategic bombers carried out a training flight over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan.

Su-30SM fighter jets accompanied the bombers, providing cover, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The flight lasted some 10 hours and was performed "in strict accordance with the international rules for the use of airspace," it said.

The ministry emphasized that long-range aviation pilots regularly fly over the neutral waters of the Arctic, the North Atlantic, the Black and Baltic Seas, and the Pacific Ocean.

Strategic missile carrier bombers Tu-95MS are part of the long-range aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the air component of the nuclear triad consisting of aircraft, submarines, and intercontinental ballistic missiles.