The Russians are shocked, shocked (!) that yesterday's bomber run caused such a stir:

Russia expressed surprise on Tuesday that the United States had scrambled fighter jets at the weekend to intercept strategic Russian bombers, one of which flew over a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Pacific.

Four U.S. F/A-18 fighters were launched after Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers flying south of Japan were detected turning towards the Nimitz aircraft carrier and its escort, a U.S. defense official said.

One of the Russian bombers flew over the deck of the Nimitz, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The U.S. fighters escorted the Russian bombers out of the area. [...]

We are surprised by all the clamor this raised," RIA news agency quoted Russian Air Force spokesman Alexander Drobyshevsky as saying.

A Russian bomber last flew over a U.S. aircraft carrier in July 2004, when a Bear flew over the USS Kitty Hawk in the Sea of Japan, the official said.

Via e-mail, NightWatch editor John McCreary comments:

The Russians are rebuilding and revalidating their data base on US and allied response times and procedures. In an earlier period, the US naval fighters would not have been scrambled to catch the Russians, they would have been shooting first and asking questions later.

The Russian Bear bomber was in position to bomb the aircraft carrier before the fighters were scrambled, according the news accounts. A lot of taxpayers'investment were at risk because a ship commander was apparently asleep at the helm. No doubt there is more to the story, but the Navy readiness and rapid reaction response does not look good in the press. If there is another interpretation of what happened, the Navy needs to put it into the public domain.