Russian strategic bombers fly patrol mission from Indonesia
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The Russian military says its strategic bombers have flown a patrol mission over the Southern Pacific after taking off from Indonesia, part of Moscow's efforts to restore its Cold War-era military foothold around the world.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the two Tu-95 strategic bombers flew from Biak Island in Indonesia's easternmost Papua province where they arrived Tuesday. It said Thursday's patrol lasted eight hours.
Russian state television stations reported that the nuclear-capable bombers accompanied by heavy-lift transport planes would spend a few days on Biak, but there was no immediate signal that such visits could continue in the future.
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The bombers' visit to Indonesia marked the first such deployment since Cold War times, when Soviet maritime patrol planes flew over the Pacific from a base in Vietnam.