Military

Alaska-based warplanes intercept two Russian aircraft formations

KUAC | By Tim Ellis

Published February 23, 2026 at 5:34 PM AKST

An U.S. F-35 Lightning II fighter, lower left, tracks a Russian Su-35 fighter jet and a Russian Tu-95 bomber over the Bering Sea while escorting the two aircraft last July through the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. Last week, two Alaska-based F-35s and two F-16s and other U.S. aircraft intercepted two formations of Russian planes, including Tu-95s and Su-35s, that flew through the Alaskan Air Defense ID Zone off Alaska's west coast. — An U.S. F-35 Lightning II fighter, lower left, tracks a Russian Su-35 fighter jet and a Russian Tu-95 bomber over the Bering Sea while escorting the two aircraft last July through the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. Last week, two Alaska-based F-35s, two F-16s and other U.S. aircraft intercepted two formations of Russian planes that flew through the Alaskan Air Defense ID Zone off Alaska's western coast.

Russian planes fly within 270 nautical miles of Nome, but stay within international airspace around Bering Sea

The North American Aerospace Defense Command said today that U.S. aircraft intercepted a total of eight Russian military planes Thursday that were flying through international airspace off the western coast of Alaska.

NORAD said in a news release issued Thursday that a formation of five Russian aircraft flew into the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone earlier that day. The formation included two Tu-95 bombers, two Su-35 fighter jets and an A-50 surveillance plane.

A KC-135 Stratotanker refuels an F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet over western Alaska Thursday while the aircraft were participating in an intercept of two formations of Russian military aircraft in and around the Bering Sea. The F-16 is assigned to the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base.

In response, NORAD dispatched four fighters -- two F-16s and two F-35s -- along with four KC-135 air tankers and one E-3 surveillance plane, according to the news release. All were Alaska-based aircraft, but a NORAD spokesperson declined to identify where the U.S. planes were based, due to operational security concerns.

The spokesperson said in an email sent today that the U.S. aircraft intercepted the Russian planes and escorted them for about an hour as they flew through the Alaskan Air Defense ID Zone.

The spokesperson said that a second formation of Russian aircraft later entered the Alaskan Air Defense ID Zone. It consisted of two Tu-95 bombers and two Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance planes.

The spokesperson said the Alaska-based aircraft then escorted the second formation through the Alaskan zone for about an hour and a half. The two escort missions lasted a total of about three hours, the spokesperson said.

The Russian aircraft flew in the Bering Strait to within 270 nautical miles from Nome, the spokesperson said.
An air defense ID zone is located just outside a nation’s sovereign airspace. According to the news release, it’s a defined expanse of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all foreign aircraft that fly into it, in the interest of national security.

The news release said the Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. Russian aircraft often fly through the Alaskan air defense ID zone and are generally not seen as a threat.

The last time NORAD reported intercepting Russian aircraft in the Alaskan air defense ID zone was on Sept. 24.

Editor's note: This story has been updated.