The two Tu-160 strategic bombers that visited Venezuela (and later Nicaragua) last week returned to the Engels base on Nov. 5.
The Blackjack bombers took off from the Maiquetia airport in Venezuela and landed at their homebase about 15 hours later; the return trip included aerial refueling by Il-78 tankers over the Norwegian Sea.
However, as the aircraft returned to Russia, details about the alleged violation of the Colombian airspace by the two Tu-160 supersonic bombers on their way to Nicaragua emerged.
According to Webinfomil.com website, on Nov. 1, at about 11:00 am, the two aircraft, registration and XM94115 XM94104, entered Colombian airspace and were detected by the radar of San Andrés.
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Lacking the diplomatic clearance to cross Colombia’s airspace, the two Tu-160s were intercepted by two Colombian Air Force Kfir fighter planes approximately 80 miles from Barranquilla.
According to the FAC the interceptors escorted the Russian bombers for about 5 minutes until they left the Colombian airspace.
Here’s the Targeting Pod footage of the close encounter in Central America.
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