RUSSIA has claimed one of its fighter jets intercepted a pair of US supersonic bombers.
Vladimir Putin’s defence ministry accused the Americans for flying their aircraft towards the Russian border over the Barents Sea.
US B-1B ‘Lancers’ are some of the largest supersonic bombers in operation
The sea is located north of Russia and Nato member states, Norway, Finland and Sweden.
US officials have not yet commented on the clash in the skies.
It is the latest tense clash in the skies between the West and Russia.
Nato has recently been carrying out drills in the Barents Sea as part of training mission “Nordic Response”.
And it came as Putin’s nation marked a day of national mourning after 133 people were killed in a terror attack.
B-1B “Lancer” bombers have been in service since the final days of the Cold War.
They can carry 75,000lbs of pounds – and used to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
The enormous 146ft jets are some of the largest supersonic warplanes ever made.
Meanwhile, the MiG-31 “Foxhound is a much smaller fighter jet designed intercept missiles and bombers.
The planes can hit speeds of up to 1,900mph with two large afterburners.
And they can be armed with a range of missiles – including Putin’s fearsome hypersonic “Daggers”.
Tensions remain at levels not seen since the Cold War between the West and Russia.
Both sides are at loggerheads over Putin’s illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Fears continue to grow that the conflict could spill over and draw in Nato.
In a statement, the Russians said: “On March 24, Russian means of airspace control over the Barents Sea detected a group air target approaching the state border of the Russian Federation.
“To identify the air target and prevent violation of the state border of the Russian Federation, a MiG-31 fighter from the air defense forces on duty was scrambled into the air.
“The crew of the Russian fighter identified the aerial target as a pair of US Air Force B-1B strategic bombers.”
They claimed as the MiG-31 approached the supersonic jets then banked away and “turned around”.
The statement continued: “The Russian plane returned safely to its home airfield, no violation of the state border of the Russian Federation was allowed.
“The flight of the Russian fighter was carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace over neutral waters in compliance with security measures.”
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