U.S. fighter jets escort Russian military aircraft out of Alaska's air defense zone
NORAD detected two Tu-95 bombers, two Su-35 fighters, and an A-50 spy plane operating in Alaska's ADIZ on February 19.
12 hrs ago
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced Friday that it detected and escorted multiple Russian military aircraft operating in Alaska's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on February 19.
NORAD identified two Tu-95 bombers, two Su-35 fighter jets, and one A-50 surveillance aircraft in the zone. In response, the command dispatched two F-16s, two F-35s, one E-3 airborne early warning aircraft, and four KC-135 tankers to intercept, identify, and escort the Russian planes.
According to NORAD, the Russian aircraft remained in international airspace throughout the operation and did not enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace. The Russian planes were escorted until they departed Alaska's ADIZ. NORAD stated that the aircraft "did not pose a threat" and characterized such Russian activity in the Alaskan ADIZ as a regular occurrence.
The Air Defense Identification Zone is defined as a stretch of international airspace that begins where U.S. and Canadian sovereign airspace ends. NORAD describes it as a "defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security."
As of Friday, Russia's Ministry of Defence had not issued a public statement regarding the incident.