The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, dispatched U.S. aircraft Thursday to intercept four Russian military planes flying in international airspace offshore near Alaska.
A NORAD news release says the agency detected and tracked two Russian Su-35 fighter jets and two Tu-95 bombers as they entered the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. In response, NORAD sent four F-16 fighters, four KC-135 air tankers and an E-3 surveillance aircraft.
The formation intercepted the Russian planes and escorted them through the Air Defense ID Zone.
According to the news release, the Russian planes remained in international airspace and didn’t enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. NORAD is a U.S. and Canadian military organization that monitors and responds to aerospace activity around the two nations.
Russian aircraft often fly through the Air Defense ID zones, which NORAD defines as international airspace that “requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.”
The news release says the Russian incursions into the U.S. and Canadian Air Defense ID zones occurs regularly and is not considered a threat.
The agency’s last reported response to a Russian sortie into the zones occurred a month ago.
NORAD officials didn’t respond Thursday to questions about where and when the Russian aircraft entered and exited the Alaskan Air Defense ID Zone.
