Two Air Force warplanes intercepted a pair of Russian bombers flying into international airspace near Alaska, North American Aerospace Defense Command said Tuesday.
NORAD said it “detected, tracked, identified and intercepted” the two Russian Tu-95 Bear-H bombers “entered and operational within the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ)”. They were intercepted by a pair of F-16 fighters.
“The recent Russian activity in North American ADIZ is not seen as a threat nor is the activity seen as provocative,” NORAD said in a statement.
EXPERT DOUBTS ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS OF RUSSIAN DEFECTORS REVEALING RUSSIAN WAR CRIMES
Air Defense Identification Zones are areas of airspace where identification, location and control of all aircraft are required in the interest of national security, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
“NORAD tracks and positively identifies foreign military aircraft entering ADIZ,” NORAD said. “NORAD regularly monitors the movements of foreign aircraft and, if necessary, escorts them from ADIZ.”
Last month, NORAD said it had detected and tracked two Russian maritime patrol aircraft operating within the air defense identification zones of Alaska and Canada.
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The incident comes at a difficult time in Russian-American relations. The United States has actively supported Ukraine with humanitarian and military aid in its war against Russia. In addition, the Biden administration has sanctioned Moscow and the Russian oligarchs.