For the second day in a row, the North American Air Defense Command, or NORAD, detected and tracked a Russian military surveillance plane Thursday that was flying through international airspace off the coast of Alaska.
On Wednesday, NORAD dispatched two Alaska-based F-16s and a KC-135 air tanker to positively identify and monitor the Ilyushin IL 20 until it left the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. The zone extends 150 nautical miles off the Alaska coastline.
On Thursday, NORAD again sent two Alaska-based F-16s and a KC-135 tanker, and also an E-3 AWACS plane, which provides electronic surveillance and other capabilities.
NORAD news releases issued Wednesday and Thursday and says the Ilyushin IL-20 remained in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace.
NORAD told Air and Space Forces magazine that in the Wednesday intercept operation, the IL 20 was in the Alaskan Air Defense ID Zone for a little over an hour in an area about 25 nautical miles from St. Lawrence Island, in the Bering Sea.
Information was not immediately available Friday regarding the area and duration of Thursday’s intercept.
The IL 20 is a four-engine turboprop-powered aircraft used to gather electronic intelligence, according to a story Stars and Stripes newspaper.
The NORAD news release said Russian aircraft activity in the Alaskan Air Defense ID Zone occurs regularly and is not considered a threat.
The two intercept operations occurred in the same week as the Monday meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladmir Putin. The meeting was held at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, near Anchorage.
Wednesday’s and Thursday’s Russian aircraft intercept was unusual because only one Russian plane was involved. Usually, multiple Russian aircraft fly through the Alaskan Air Defense ID Zone.
In July, NORAD sent six Alaska-based fighter jets to intercept two Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers and two Su-35 Flanker fighter jets in the Alaska Zone.
In April, NORAD aircraft intercepted a Russian formation with two TU-95 bombers, two SU-35 fighters, one TU-142 maritime reconnaissance plane and one A-50 AWACS plane. The formation flew over the Bering Sea for about two-and-a-half hours, about 250 nautical miles from Shemya Island in the western Aleutians.
And in February, NORAD scrambled two formations of U.S. and Canadian aircraft to intercept Russian planes in the Alaskan Air ID Zone. The formations included two Canadian fighter jets and an air tanker. The U.S. formation included five F-35 fighters, two K-C-135 air tankers and an E-3 electronic surveillance plane.
NORAD didn’t disclose how many Russian aircraft were involved in that operation.
Editor's note: This story has been updated.
