President Donald Trump greeted Russian leader Vladimir Putin at an air base in Alaska on Friday as a squadron of U.S. stealth military planes designed during the Cold War in part for use in a possible conflict with the Soviet Union flew overhead.
Axar.az informs, citing AP, as Trump and Putin shook hands at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson outside Anchorage, F-22s and B2 bombers soared above. Neither plane entered active service until after the Cold War had ended but their design and development began during the 1970s and 1980s when the U.S.-Soviet rivalry was at its height.
The presence of the planes during the red carpet welcome afforded to Putin by summit host Trump may have been intended to remind the Russian leader of U.S. military might as the pair head in to talks focused on Russia’s war with Ukraine.