WATCH Japanese fighter jets shadow Russian ‘Bear’ bombers over Sea of Japan

Two Russian long-range bombers were shadowed by Japanese combat planes while on a routine patrol mission in the Western Pacific, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. The Japanese fighter jets were filmed by the Russian crews.

The two Tupolev Tu-95MS subsonic bombers flew a patrol mission in the neutral airspace, making their way over the Okhotsk Sea, the Sea of Japan and the western part of the Pacific, the ministry said in a statement. The bombers were accompanied by Russian Su-35S fighter jets during their 15-hour-long sortie.

For some parts of the flight, the Russian air team was shadowed by the fighter jets of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. Footage filmed during the mission shows a Mitsubishi F-15J and a Mitsubishi F-2, the Japanese-produced version of the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon respectively.

The Russian ministry stressed that like any other long-range aviation mission, the patrol was conducted in full compliance with international aviation rules.

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