A Russian Su-27 fighter jet was scrambled to intercept two B-1B Lancer strategic bombers of the US Air Force over the Baltic Sea, Russia’s National Defense Control Center (at the Russian Defense Ministry) told reporters on Wednesday.

Russian radars detected two air targets approaching the national sovereign airspace. A Su-27 fighter jet of the Western Military District’s air defense units on duty was scrambled to intercept the aircraft.

"The crew of the Russian fighter aircraft identified the air targets as B-1B strategic bombers of the US Air Force and shadowed them over the Baltic Sea," the national center said.

There was no unauthorized incursion into Russia’s airspace. The National Defense Control Center pointed out that after the US aircraft had turned away from the Russian border, the Russian fighter jet safely returned to its home air base.