U.S. fighter jets have again intercepted Russian aircraft flying near Alaska’s coastline. The North American Aerospace Defense Command says F-22 Raptors intercepted two formations of Russian bombers, fighters and surveillance aircraft Wednesday (June 17). One of the formations flew within 32 nautical miles of Alaska, a NORAD news release said.
Both of the Russian formations consisted of two Tu-95 bombers and A-50 AWACS-type surveillance planes. The first formation included two Su-35 fighter jets.
The U.S. F-22s were accompanied by KC-135 air tankers and E-3 AWACS planes.
The NORAD news release says the Russian aircraft entered the U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone off Alaska, but remained in international airspace throughout.
The news release doesn’t say where the intercepts occurred, nor where the U.S. aircraft came from. NORAD routinely withholds that information, citing operational security.
U.S. and Russian aircraft have for years played the cat-and-mouse game in the airspace off Alaska. NORAD said Wednesday’s incident was the eighth this year in the region. The previous intercept occurred last week, again involving two formations of Russian bombers and support aircraft, one of which flew within 20 nautical miles of Alaska.
Earlier week, the Pentagon sent three B-52 bombers to Eielson Air Force Base, where they’ll be used to help train U.S. and Canadian pilots train to intercept aircraft that fly into the respective air-ID zones. A Pacific Air Forces news release says the B-52 task force also is intended to show the command’s ability to project air power throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
