Japan Scrambled Fighters to Escort Russia's Tu-95MS Over Sea of Japan, Russian Military Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Japan has scrambled its fighters to escort two Russia's Tu-95MS strategic bombers during their scheduled flight over the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

"Two Tu-95MS strategic bombers of the long-range aviation conducted a routine flight over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan and the north-western part of the Pacific Ocean ... The duration of the flight exceeded nine hours. At certain stages of the flight, the Russian strategic bombers were escorted by the Japanese air force's F-15 fighters," the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Tu-95 is a four-engine long-range strategic bomber developed by Russian aerospace and defence company Tupolev Design Bureau in 1950s. The current version is the Tu-95MS, which entered service in 1984.