The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) scrambled U.S. fighter jets Sunday to intercept a Russian reconnaissance plane near Alaska. It was the third time in less than a week that a Russian Ilyushin IL-20, known as a “Coot,” entered the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), according to a NORAD news release.
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The command said it dispatched two F-16s, an E-3 airborne warning aircraft and two KC-135 tankers to identify the Russian aircraft. NORAD stressed that the plane remained in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign territory.
How does the ADIZ work?
An ADIZ is a designated stretch of international airspace just outside sovereign borders where foreign aircraft must declare their presence for security reasons. The Alaskan zone spans thousands of miles, including the Aleutians, parts of the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea and the northern Pacific.
NORAD says such Russian planes frequently cross into the ADIZ but are not considered threatening. However, U.S. and Canadian forces still track them.
What other incidents happened this week?
Last Wednesday, a Russian IL-20 flew within 30 miles of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, a U.S. territory 140 miles from Alaska and just 46 miles from Russia, NORAD spokesperson Capt. Rebecca Garand said.
The next day, another IL-20 entered the zone and stayed for more than two hours, passing 125 miles from Cape Lisburne in northwest Alaska.
Why does this matter?
U.S. officials say Russian flights in the Alaskan defense zone have increased this year, with encounters in January, April and July. Last September, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet flew within feet of a NORAD aircraft. A U.S. commander called the action unsafe and unprofessional, according to Stars and Stripes.
NORAD said it uses a “layered defense network” of satellites, radars and aircraft to track and respond to potential threats. The command emphasized that it “remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America.”
