Russia says it scrambled fighter jets to intercept 2 US B-52H Stratofortress bombers approaching the Russian border

• Moscow says it scrambled fighter jets to intercept two US bombers approaching the Russian border.
• Russia's Defense Ministry said two B-52H bombers "withdrew" as the jets approached.
• The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range heavy bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

Russian fighter jets scrambled to intercept two US Air Force B-52H bombers approaching its border, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a post on Telegram.

"Russian airspace control systems located a group aerial target over the Barents Sea waters approaching the State border of the Russian Federation," the post said.

MiG-29 and MiG-31 jets were called into action to intercept the bombers and "prevent a violation of the State border."

As the jets approached, the department said that the bombers "adjusted the flight course," making a "U-turn away from the State border."

"The Russian aircraft returned safely to the home airfields. There was no violation of the State border," it added.

It's not the first time Moscow has said it's stopped a Western aircraft from crossing the Russian border over the Barents Sea, which is off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia.

In August last year, a MiG-29 fighter jet intercepted a Norwegian P-8A Poseidon aircraft as it approached the Russian border, Russia's Defense Ministry said, per Tass news agency.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the plane withdrew as the Russian MiG approached.

In March, a Russian MiG-31 scrambled to intercept two US B-1B strategic bombers in the same region, per Tass.

Once again the Ministry of Defense said the bombers pulled away.

NATO has said its air forces in Europe scrambled more than 300 times in 2023 to intercept Russian planes threatening to enter the alliance's airspace.

"Along NATO's eastern flank, Russian military aircraft have a history of not transmitting a transponder code indicating their position and altitude, not filing a flight plan, and not communicating with air traffic controllers," the alliance said, while noting that most encounters between its jets and their Russian counterparts were "safe and professional."

It added that "breaches of NATO airspace by Russian military aircraft remained rare and generally of short duration."

Business Insider has contacted the US Air Force for comment.

The B-52H Stratofortress

The Stratofortress is a multi-purpose, long-range heavy bomber that can fly at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet.

Capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons, the B-52 is designed to conduct "strategic attack, air interdiction, offensive counter-air and maritime operations," according to the US Air Force.

The branch says that the B-52 was responsible for dropping 40% of all the weapons used by coalition forces during the Gulf War's Operation Desert Storm, which saw the US and its allies drop 88,500 tons of bombs.

The Air Force describes the plane as "the backbone" of the US's strategic bomber force.