Two Russian Tu-95 "Bear" bombers that flew within tens of miles off the California coast sent a light, yet foreboding message to the U.S. F-15 fighter jets that were sent to intercept them.
"Good morning, American pilots. We are here to greet you on your Fourth of July Independence Day," the message from the Russian bombers said.
The Russian pilots utilized an emergency aircraft communication channel to send the message to the American pilots, which coincidentally fell on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin sent congratulations to U.S. President Barack Obama, according to CNN.
Two similar bombers also approached U.S. airspace off the southern coast of Alaska. In both cases, however, the Russian aircraft did not enter U.S. airspace.
Though the message by the two Russian bombers seem be simple and light-hearted, American defense officials believe that there is more to the message than what meets the eye.
Two officials from the United States military have confirmed that the nature of the message was a sardonic Independence Day greeting, especially due to the nature of the aircraft used to deliver the message, reports The Washington Free Beacon.
"These are nuclear-capable bombers and that is a big problem," the official said.
A former Pentagon nuclear forces expert, Mark Schneider, believes that the approach of the bombers is part of nuclear coercion that is being initiated by Russia.
"The pattern of Russian provocative bomber flights is dangerous because it reflects a Russian view that nuclear attack threats can and should be used to get their way on whatever they are attempting to achieve," he said.
A similar incident has happened earlier this year, as reported in this HNGN article.
