MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti) – General Herbert Carlisle, commander of the US Pacific Air Forces, has said Russia’s air activity in the region has significantly increased amid the situation in Ukraine, Reuters reported Tuesday.
"They've come with their long-range aviation out to the coast of California, they've circumnavigated Guam … That's to demonstrate their capability to do it, it's to gather intel," Carlisle was quoted as saying Monday during his speech at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studie.
According to Carlisle, long-range Russian patrols around Japan and South Korea, including the island of Guam, had increased “drastically.”
Russia’s strategic bomber force regularly performs flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, Atlantic, Black Sea and Pacific Ocean.
Last month, Russian Tu-95MS “Bear” strategic bombers, accompanied by supersonic Mikoyan MiG-31 interceptors, conducted test flights over neutral waters of the North Sea.
The flights sometimes prompt a reaction by neighboring countries. Japan has scrambled aircraft to escort such flights several times this year.
