The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said it detected and tracked two Russian Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighter jets operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Wednesday. The command scrambled an E-3 airborne warning plane, four F-16 fighters and four KC-135 tankers “to positively identify and intercept” the aircraft.
NORAD stressed the Russian planes remained in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian territory.
How common are these intercepts?
While NORAD called the flights “routine” and not a direct threat, CBS News reports many defense officials see operations as Moscow probing U.S. readiness.
The latest incident follows a series of tense encounters near Alaska. In August, NORAD intercepted Russian reconnaissance planes three times in a week near Alaska. Earlier encounters this year included a Russian jet flying “within just a few feet” of a NORAD aircraft off Alaska’s coast in September 2024, which a U.S. commander called “unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all.”
What is the Alaskan ADIZ?
An Air Defense Identification Zone is international airspace outside sovereign borders where foreign aircraft must identify themselves to the U.S. and Canada for security reasons. The Alaskan ADIZ covers thousands of miles across the Bering Sea, Aleutians, Arctic Ocean and northern Pacific.
NORAD uses what it calls a “layered defense network” of satellites, radars and aircraft to monitor the zone. It remains ready to employ “a number of response options in defense of North America.”
Broader tensions
The Alaska intercept occurred the same week officials in Denmark investigated unidentified drones near Copenhagen Airport. Police said the drones were operated by a “capable actor.” European nations have been on high alert after Russian drones entered Polish airspace on Sept. 9, prompting NATO fighters to shoot them down, and after Estonia reported Russian jets crossed its border 10 days later.
