On Saturday, two pairs of Russian Tupolev Tu-95 bombers approached the US West Coast, causing the Air Force to scramble to intercept the planes before they breached US airspace, two senior defense officials told Fox News.
The first incident reportedly occurred at 10:30 a.m. ET off the coast of Alaska, when Norad identified the Russian planes and two F-22s hurried to intercept them. Another incident occurred at 11 a.m. ET off the coast of central California and was responded to by two F-15s.
The Russian bombers they intercepted are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, but sources do not indicate whether they were armed.