Strategic missile carriers Tu-95MS spent about five hours in the air over the Barents and Norwegian Seas, and at certain sections of the route they were escorted by fighters of foreign states. The Russian Ministry of Defence reported on the prolonged flight of Russian aircraft.
The Tu-95MS performed the route over the neutral waters of the two seas. The Russian missile carriers were escorted by Su-33s of the Navy, and at certain stages, fighters of foreign states were alongside them. The Ministry of Defence did not specify which countries and types of aircraft participated in the escort.
Five hours in the air for the Tu-95MS became part of a prolonged route for long-range aviation. The aircraft belongs to strategic missile carriers and is designed for the use of long-range cruise missiles, so its tasks involve operating at a significant distance from home airfields.
The Tu-95MS is a development of the Tu-95 family, created during the Soviet period. The first prototype of the basic Tu-95 took to the skies in 1952, and serial production of the Tu-95MS began in 1981. Despite the age of the design, missile carriers of this family continue to be used as part of the long-range aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces.