Rare footage from the cockpit of a nuclear-capable Russian bomber captured a close encounter on Wednesday between its fighter escort and a NATO air policing interceptor.
A video shared to the Russian-language Telegram channel "warhistoryalconafter" showed the crew of a Tu-22M3 strategic bomber filming the approach of a German air force Eurofighter Typhoon over the Baltic Sea.
Its Su-30SM escort positioned itself between the bomber and the NATO jet, which was held off its left wing during a portion of the flight, according to the Russian video. Newsweek could not independently verify the footage.
The Baltic Sea is home to the Russian stronghold of Kaliningrad, a semi-exclave where its navy's Baltic Fleet is based. Russian and NATO aircraft frequently meet in nearby airspace to prevent potential violations of each other's borders.
Russia's Defense Ministry said earlier that it had dispatched two Tu-22M3 bombers as well as Su-30 and Su-27 fighter aircraft to patrol international airspace above the Baltic Sea.
The training lasted five hours. "At certain stages of the route, the long-range bombers were escorted by foreign fighter aircraft," it said, hinting at the NATO aircraft.
The footage also showed a second, smaller aircraft in the distance, possibly another one of Germany's Luftwaffe jets. The encounter matched the contents of an accompanying Russian Defense Ministry video.
Photos released on the same day by the German air force showed its Eurofighter Typhoon monitoring the Russian air group. The Luftwaffe said the Russian aircraft were armed.
Germany said the air policing mission was handed over to the quick reaction alert squadron of Sweden, NATO's newest member, which operates a fleet of JAS 39 Gripen fighter aircraft.
Separately on Wednesday, Russia's Defense Ministry said its aerospace forces sent two Tu-95MS strategic cruise missile carriers with MiG-31 escorts to the Barents and Norwegian seas, in another training sortie lasting four hours.
The Russian air group also encountered foreign fighter jets, the statement said. Footage released by the ministry appeared to show the presence of at least one F/A-18 Hornet, which is used by the Finnish air force.
The Russian maneuvers were the latest military signal from Moscow amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Under a month ago, Russia scrambled its own MiG-29 and MiG-31 jets to intercept a pair of U.S. Air Force B-52H heavy bombers flying from the United States, over the Barents Sea, to reach NATO ally Romania.
Days later, a combined air group of Russian and Chinese bombers were intercepted by U.S. and Canadian jets in the Alaska air defense zone. It was the first time Moscow and Beijing's forces had operated together that way, U.S. officials said.
Late last month, U.S. ally Japan also scrambled jets after Russia sent Tu-95MS bombers with Su-35S and Su-30SM escorts for training in its Far Eastern regions, including over the Sea of Japan.
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