The Russians sent out a lone Su-27 Flanker to intercept a formation of Air Force aircraft which included a pair of B-1B Lancers, a B-52 Stratofortress and a KC-135R Stratotanker that was part of the BALTOPS 2017 exercise over the Baltic Sea. The intercept made for some great pictures!

BALTOPS is an annual recurring multinational, maritime-focused exercise designed to provide high end training for the participants. This year 14 countries (Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States and NATO’s Enhanced Opportunities Partners: Finland and Sweden) will participate.

The exercise, which will involve 4,000 shipboard personnel, 50 ships and submarines and more than 50 aircraft, is designed to enhance flexibility and interoperability, to strengthen combined response capabilities, as well as demonstrate resolve among Allied and Partner Nations’ forces to ensure stability in, and if necessary defend, the Baltic Sea region.

BALTOPS, which began in 1972, continues to be an excellent opportunity for NATO and regional partners to strengthen interoperability through a series of combined tactical maneuvers and scenarios. – BALTOPS 2017

Is this a view from the cockpit of the B-1?

Featured images of a Russian Su-27 Flanker as it intercepts a formation of U.S. Air Force aircraft, two B-1B Lancers, 28th Bomb Wing, KC-135R Stratotanker, 459th Air Refueling Squadron and B-52H Stratofortress, 2nd Bomb Wing, while participating in BALTOPS over the Baltic Sea, June 9, 2017 by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder, US Air Force