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Canadian Air Force Fighter Jet

Canadian fighters scrambled to turn back a Russian Bear intercontinental bomber over the Arctic within 24 hours of  US President Barack Obama’s visit to Ottawa last week.

The Tu-95 turboprop was approaching over the Northwest Passage but never crossed into Canadian airspace after two the interception by two Canadian CF-18 fighter jets, Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay said today.

The Canadian pilots told the Russian aircraft “to turn around, turn tail and head back to its own air space, which it did,” MacKay said.

“I’m not going to stand here and accuse the Russians of having deliberately done this during the presidential visit” on Feb. 16, MacKay said, “but it was a strong coincidence.”

Russian Bearcat Fighter Jet

Russian bombers have stepped up patrols approaching U.S. and Canadian airspace to press Moscow’s jurisdictional rights and access to the potential mineral wealth on the Arctic frontier.

On Jan. 27, two Tu-95s were intercepted and turned away from the Alaska coast.