Media outlets recently reported that Canada’s air force scrambled two CF-18s to intercept Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bombers off the coast of Newfoundland. The Government of Canada claimed the bombers strayed into Canadian airspace; the Russian government denied Ottawa’s claim.

Canada is not the only country to have registered encounters with Tupolev patrols. Denmark, Japan, Norway, and the United Kingdom have intercepted Tu-95s close to their airspace since the Russian government resumed strategic bomber flights in 2007. In 1992 Moscow cancelled the patrols due to financial constraints.

In Canada, the recent Tu-95 incident is being linked to the country’s purchase of the F-35 fighter jets.  As Geopoliticalmonitor reported on July 26, 2010, the F-35 decision generated much debate in Ottawa.  The opposition Liberal party is claiming that the governing Conservatives are using the incident to justify the purchase of F-35s to replace the air force’s fleet of CF-18s.  The Conservatives argue that the patrols show the importance of the modernization of Canada’s combat aircraft fleet.