bombers that have conducted training missions near North American airspace as part of a surge in such

activity, officials with the North American Aerospace Defence Command said yesterday.

The Canadian actions, involving CF-18 Hornet jet fighters from Cold Lake, Alta., were among seven military

exercises involving Russian Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers, which have caught NORAD's attention.

U.S. aircraft responded to the other five situations.

The flights come amid concerns about a Russia newly bullish about testing its military abilities, a posture that

has prompted such flights in Europe as well. Continued:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071002.wbuzzed1003/BNStory/International/home

Russian Bombers Trained Off Alaska Coast

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Russian warplanes staged at least seven exercises outside U.S. airspace near Alaska

this summer, and each time U.S. or Canadian fighter jets were dispatched to escort them, U.S. military

officials said Monday.

The latest exercise came Sept. 19 and involved two planes flying somewhere off the coast of Canada, said

Maj. Allen Herritage, a spokesman for the Alaska region of the North American Aerospace Defense

Command.

They were met by Canadian planes from NORAD, which is jointly operated by the U.S. and Canadian

militaries.

At least five exercises by the Russian Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers have taken place off Alaska's Aleutian

Islands and other historic Cold War outposts, such as Cape Lisburne and St. Lawrence Island, according to

NORAD records.

All occurred beyond the 12-mile boundary that constitutes U.S. airspace and have involved two to six

aircraft. Each time, Russia alerted the U.S. through reports in Russian news agencies, Herritage said.

The bombers have been met by fighter jets, usually F-15s.

"They used to have them from time to time, but not nearly in this frequency," Herritage said. "These

exercises used to be more common during the Cold War."

The exercises come amid troubled relations between Russia and the West and are seen by some as

intimidating moves by an increasingly assertive Russia, but Herritage said the exercises are not a cause for

alarm. Continued:

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Note: All Tu-95s now in Russian service are the Tu-95MS variant, built in the 1980s and 1990s With the

reopening of the BEAR production line, the Soviets began producing a new, upgraded variant of the BEAR

turboprop bomber, thereby increasing their long-range bomber force.

BEAR H16 - TU-95MS16 -- The TU-95MS16 carried six missiles inside the fuselage and 10 missiles

underneath the wings. This entirely new variant of the BEAR bomber - the BEAR H - became the launch

platform for the long-range Kh-55 [AS-15] air-launched cruise missile.