Military

Russian aircraft intercepted in international airspace off Alaska

KUAC | By Tim Ellis

Published September 25, 2024 at 3:52 PM AKDT

The North American Aerospace Defense Command on Monday detected, tracked and intercepted Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers like this one. NORAD dispatched four U.S. F-16 fighter jets to accompany the bombers and two Su-35 Flanker fighter jets through the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone. — The North American Aerospace Defense Command on Monday detected, tracked and intercepted Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers like this one. NORAD dispatched four U.S. F-16 fighter jets to escort the bombers and two Russian Su-35 Flanker fighter jets accompanying them through the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone.

NORAD detects, intercepts 2 Russian bombers, 2 fighters

Russian military aircraft returned to the skies off Alaska’s coast Monday. And once again the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, dispatched fighter jets to intercept and accompany them through international airspace.

Two Russian Su-35 Flanker fighter jets like this one accompanied the two Tu-95 Bear bombers Monday during their transit through the Alaska ADIZ. This Flanker intercepted a U.S. P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft assigned to U.S. 6th Fleet over the Mediterranean Sea in May 2020. U.S. officials classified the incident as unsafe because the two Su-35s flew too closely and aggressively around the P-8.

NORAD said in a news release that it detected and tracked four Russian aircraft that flew into the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone earlier Monday. A spokesperson said the Russian formation included two Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers and two Su-35 Flanker jet fighters.

The spokesperson said Tuesday that NORAD scrambled four F-16s fighters and a reconnaissance aircraft to escort the Russian formation through the Alaska Air Defense ID Zone.

The F-16s likely are based at Eielson Air Force Base, but NORAD spokespersons routinely decline to provide that information, citing operational security.

Russian aircraft frequently fly through the Alaska ID Zone, an area that separates international and U.S. sovereign airspace. The NORAD news release noted that the Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace, adding that the Russian flights are not seen as a threat.

Monday’s sortie was the first time Russian aircraft have returned to the Alaska ID Zone since early last week, when two maritime surveillance aircraft were detected and tracked. That was the last of four formations known to have flown through the Zone from Sept. 11^th through the 15^th.