Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has announced his nation will expand long-range bomber patrols into the western Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
The specifics of the patrols have not been made public, though the Pentagon insisted any moves directly into the Gulf of Mexico would be unprecedented, including by Soviet planes during the Cold War.
What is not unprecedented, however, is US and Russian bombers patrolling near one anothers’ airspace. US bomber patrols regularly take them near Russian airspace in Eastern Europe, central Asia, and the east Pacific.
Shoigu says that the bombers will be making use of bases in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. As with Russian patrols in Eastern Europe, the patrols are set to be hyped by NATO as excuse for more military spending.
