Russian bombers heading for US warship INTERCEPTED by fighter jets near North Korea

[TomSea]

This is the Daily Star, so a light caution on reading this is advised.

Russian bombers heading for US warship INTERCEPTED by fighter jets near North Korea

VLADIMIR Putin ordered two nuclear bombers to fly towards a US aircraft carrier stationed near North Korea in a brazen display of his air power.   
By Joshua Nevett / Published 1st November 2017

Two F/A-18 fighter jets scrambled to escort the Russian TU-95 bombers away from the warship on Sunday, US defence officials said.

Putin’s nuclear-capable “Bears” were stopped just 80 miles away from the vessel, the USS Ronald Reagan, in the Sea of Japan.

US President Donald Trump has sent three aircraft carriers – the USS Ronald Reagan, USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Nimitz – ahead of his visit to the region later this week.

...


SEA POWER: The USS Ronald Reagan is currently on a dispatch in the Sea of Japan

Continued at: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/656758/russia-bombers-intercepted-us-aircraft-carrier-fighter-jets-north-korea-putin

I thought Putin was visiting Iran (yes, apparently: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/putin-in-iran-for-talks-offers-support-for-nuclear-deal/ar-AAuiNdg?OCID=ansmsnnews11 ), I'm not sure about the "Putin ordered", still the incident sounds plausible to me.

[DemolitionMan]

They are testing the waters. They want to see how long our responses are to a intercept. This is Cold War 2.0 stuff. The Russians use this to probe our defenses or reconnaissance.

[edpc]

The SM-2 has a range of 100 nmi.  Next time,  light them up with fire control radar.

[DemolitionMan]

The SM-2 has a range of 100 nmi.  Next time,  light them up with fire control radar.

An F-15 "escort" will do. Just have the F-15 "paint" them on the radar control screen. When the Russians hear the tone of a "lock on" they will get the message. When "Bear" bombers appear in Alaskan airspace they get the normal escort by a F-15 Eagle out of U.S. Territory.