On 24 January 2008, "Nimitz" deployed to the Pacific for a "surge"-deployment. On 9 February 2008, two Russian Tu-95 'Bear' bombers overflew the carrier in the Western Pacific. Four F/A-18C Hornets were launched when the bombers were away from the US ships, and intercepted the bombers south of "Nimitz". Two F/A-18s trailed one of the bombers, which twice flew over the deck of the carrier at an altitude of , while the other two F/A-18s trailed another Tu-95 circling about away from the carrier. Reportedly, there was no radio communication between the American and Russian aircraft. According to the Department of Defense, one of the two aircraft was said to have flown above "Nimitz" at an altitude of . On the same day, Russian aircraft entered Japanese airspace, which caused the Japanese to raise protest to the Russian ambassador in Tokyo.