On February 19, the French military released photos showing warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces flying over the Mediterranean Sea.
The photos shows Tu-22M3 strategic bombers, which were recently deployed in Syria’s Hmeimim Air Base, escorted by Su-35S and Su30SM fighter jets.
The French military said that the photos were taken by the French carrier Charles de Gaulle’s task force, which tracked the warplanes from the moment they took off from Hmeimim Air Base. The task force is one of three NATO carrier groups currently in the Mediterranean Sea, with the other two being the US Harry Truman carrier strike and the Italian carrier Cavour strike group.
Russia deployed a number of Tu-22M3 strategic bombers and MiG-31K fighter jets, armed with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, in Hmeimim Air Base on February 15. The warplanes were sent to the region to take part in naval drills in the Mediterranean Sea.
One of the MiG-31Ks deployed in Syria carried out a simulated launch of a Kinzhal missile over the Mediterranean Sea on February 19.
The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal nuclear-capable hypersonic missile was one of six Russian strategic weapons unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 1 March 2018.
The Russian naval drills in the Mediterranean Sea came amid high tensions between Moscow and the NATO over the crisis in Ukraine.
Source: South Front