Canada intercepts two Russian bombers off Canada’s Arctic coast
By Rob Gillies, APWednesday, August 25, 2010
Canada intercepts two Russian bombers
TORONTO — Fighter jets were scrambled to intercept two Russian bombers in the Arctic as they approached Canadian airspace on the eve of an Arctic visit from Canada’s prime minister.
Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said Wednesday two Canadian CF-18 jets shadowed a pair of Russian TU-95 Bear jets in international airspace on Tuesday.
Soudas says the bombers flew within 30 miles (50 kilometers) of Canadian soil. They were first spotted approximately 120 nautical miles north of Inuvik, Northwest Territories.
Soudas says thanks to the rapid response, “at no time did the Russian aircraft enter sovereign Canadian airspace.”
Harper is due to observe an annual military exercise in the Canadian Arctic on Wednesday.
