The incident took place in international waters, east of the Korean Peninsula where the ship, the USS Reagan, has been conducting military drills with South Korea.

The two Russian warplanes, commonly referred to as "Bear Bombers," flew within one mile of the aircraft carrier while maintaining a 500 feet elevation, Navy spokesman Commander William Marks said.

Consequently, the U.S Navy quickly scrambled its very own F/A-18 Super Hornets to intercept the planes and escort them away.

"We would characterize this as still at a safe distance. This kind of interaction is not unprecedented," Cmdr. Marks said, according to Fox News

An unnamed U.S. Navy official who said that both pilots had acted professionally during the encounter, Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty noted. The two Russian bombers were said to be TU-152 Bear aircraft. They are used for reconnaissance in maritime environments, especially in the detection of submarines.

This latest incident comes a few days after the U.S. sailed a warship close to some disputed artificial islands claimed by China, according to BBC News. The move angered China and raised tensions between the two countries.

Russia has been increasingly flexing its military muscles abroad, especially in demonstrating its naval power. It recently fired guided missiles from a warship, hitting targets that were over 900 miles deep inside Syria. Analysts compared this to U.S. and NATO warships firing Tomahawk missiles off the coast of Libya some years back.