US B-1B Lancers intercepted by Russian Sukhoi Su-27, Su-30 were training to target enemy ships using AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles

B-1B Lancer nuclear bombers of the United States of America, intercepted by Russian Sukhoi Su-27P and Su-30M combat aircraft over the neutral waters of Black and Baltic Seas on Friday (May 29, 2020), were on a practice mission to use AGM-158C Long Range Anti-ship Missile (LRASM) designed to target enemy ships.

B-1B Lancers are equipped with AGM-158C LRASM and the United States European Command (EUCOM) on Monday (May 1, 2020) confirmed that "during the mission, the two B-1s conducted training on the Long Range Anti-ship Missile (LRASM)" which are "designed to target adversary ships". Armed with LRASMs, the B-1Bs with their advanced stand-off and counter-ship capabilities can destroy a designated target within groups of surface warships in electronic warfare environments.

"LRASM plays a critical role in ensuring US naval access to operate in both open-ocean and littoral environments due to its enhanced ability to discriminate between targets from long range. With the increase of maritime threats and their improvement of anti-access/area denial environmental weapons, this stealthy anti-ship cruise missile provides reduced risk to strike assets by penetrating and defeating sophisticated enemy air-defense systems," stated Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Albrecht of 603rd Air Operations Center, Bomber Task Force planner, Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

The officer pointed out such training missions by B-1B aircrews are carried out to ensure preparedness for emerging threats. During the training mission, the B-1B Lancers were escorted by Ukraine's Sukhoi Su-27, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29s, Romanian MiG-21s, and Polish F-16 Fighting Falcons.

"The rise of near-peer competitors and increased tensions between NATO and our adversaries has brought anti-ship capability back to the forefront of the anti-surface warfare mission for bomber crews," added Lieutenant Colonel Albrecht. Such training missions also increase the deterrent capability of the US Air Force and its allies in the region.

With LRASM in its arsenal, the enemy warships will not only have to deal missile threats from surface ships but also but bombers as well. 

The EUCOM press release added that in 2018, Air Force Global Strike Command authorized Ellsworth as the early operational capacity basing location for the AGM-158C LRASM. This authorization made Ellsworth and the B-1B bombers the first base and airframe to train and qualify on the LRASM.

"This training is especially important to prepare B-1 crews to counter new and emerging threats, USAFE said, and to be ready for a conflict against a major power, as outlined in the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy. Russia occupied and seized the Crimean Peninsula, which contains a key port in the Black Sea, from Ukraine in 2014, sparking a global crisis and renewing concerns about Russian aggression," the release added.

Russian Aerospace Force launched its Sukhoi Su-27M and Su-30M after the B-1B bombers were tracked near the country's borders. The Russian Defense Ministry also posted a 58-second long video clip of the SU-27P and Su-30M approaching the B-1B bombers.