SEVEROMORSK /Murmansk Region/, July 3. /TASS/. Three Russian long-range antisubmarine Tu-142 aircraft conducted a scheduled mission, lasting 12 hours, in international airspace over the Barents and Norwegian Seas and over the North East Atlantic, the Russian Northern Fleet said on Friday.

"On July 3, 2020, three antisubmarine aircraft Tu-142 of the Northern Fleet performed a scheduled mission over neutral waters of the Barents and Norwegian Seas as well as the North East Atlantic. The flight lasted for over 12 hours. The planes covered the distance of 7,000 kilometers during that period of time," the fleet’s press service said.

"Norwegian F-16 fighter jets and the F-35 aircraft deployed to Keflavik Air Base in Iceland shadowed the Russian aircraft at certain stages of the route," the fleet added.

The TU-142 planes were supported by MiG-31 fighter interceptors under the program of combat training for antisubmarine and fighter aircraft crews.

The fleet’s press service pointed out that the crews practiced flying over featureless terrain, the crews’ interaction in flying without radar control and air combat missions in an off-shore maritime zone. On the way back, the Tu-142 refueled in midair from IL-78 fuel tankers of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

"The Northern Fleet’s aircraft acted in strict compliance with the international airspace rules, without violating the borders of other states," the press service added.