Americans sent two F-16s, two F-35s, one E-3 and four KC-135s
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected this Friday bombers, fighters and a Russian spy plane flying over the coast of Alaska.
In a statement cited by Reuters, NORAD reports that it detected and tracked two Tu-95 strategic bombers, two Su-35 fighters and an A-50 aircraft flying over the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
Consequently, the statement added, NORAD sent two F-16s, two F-35s, one E-3 and four North American KC-135s to “intercept” the Russian bombers and fighters, which “positively identified and escorted the aircraft until they left” the area.
Russian aircraft did not enter North American or Canadian airspace, the command said, adding that Russian ADIZ activity is a regular occurrence and is not considered a threat.
According to , in September last year, the US also sent fighters to intercept a Russian Tu-95 bomber and a Russian Su-35 fighter that were flying over the ADIZ. A month earlier, NORAD intercepted a Russian IL-20 COOT, a Cold War-era reconnaissance aircraft, four times in the same week.
The Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone is a strip of international airspace that begins where U.S. and Canadian sovereign airspace ends. According to NORAD, it is a “defined range of international airspace that requires the immediate identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.”
