Why Did Russia Fly Two Nuclear-Capable Tu-160 Strategic Bombers Near Alaska?

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By Mark Episkopos,The National Interest

Russia has flown two nuclear-capable Tu-160 strategic bombers within striking distance of Alaska, again flexing its threat projection capabilities vis-a-vis Washington on the heels of several past Tu-160 flights near US borders earlier in 2019.

The Tu-160 “White Swan” bombers covered a distance of 6,000 kilometers over the span of 8 hours before landing in Anadyr airfield in the Chukotka region, one of Russia’s easternmost airports that’s a mere 370 miles off American borders.

The flight was part of a weeklong tactical drills program focusing on long-range flight missions and midair refueling, organized by Long-Range Aviation Commander Lieutenant-General Sergei Kobylash.

In an interview given to Russian state media earlier today, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu offered the reassurance that the Chukotka trip is little more than a routine exercise that was scheduled in the beginning of this year: “We are now doing what we did before. Our strategic and long-range bombers have started to conduct flights to areas where they used to fly in the past. These flights are carried out according to schedule… How is it possible to bully your neighbors using strategic bombers?” Shoigu alerted that US strategic command was notified that the flight would be taking place.

It bears noting that “bully,” which can also be translated as “tease” from the native Russian, was not Shoigu’s preferred way of framing the situation; rather, he was responding to the somewhat flippant prompt posed by the interviewer.