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A MiG-31 fighter jet was scrambled from an airbase in the Murmansk region to meet the US bombers, Russia’s Defense Ministry informs in the afternoon on Sunday. According to the ministry, the US aircraft approached but turned away from Russian airspace.
Norway’s Armed Forces are partly reluctant to provide information about the flight. Asked by the Barents Observer, the Joint Headquarters near Bodø was unwilling to confirm whether the B-1B bombers were inside Norwegian airspace before flying over the Barents Sea.
“The activity is by the United States European Command,” says spokesperson Reidar Flasnes.
“We cannot detail the activity,” Falsnes says. He adds that the flights are “approved by Norway’s Ministry of Defense.”
The operation included three US tankers flying out of Mildenhall airbase north of London Sunday morning. The three tankers flew north over Norway and Sweden. Inside the Arctic Circle, the tankers provided fuel support for the US bombers and possibly also to supporting NATO fighter jets.
