U.S. fighter jets intercepted six Russian aircraft flying off Alaska’s coasts last week.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command says its Alaska office detected the Russian aircraft as they were flying through the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone on Thursday.
A NORAD news release issued Saturday says the Russian formation included Tu-95 bombers, Su-35 fighters and an air-refueling tanker.
In response, Alaska NORAD dispatched F-16 and F-22 fighter jets and an AWACS plane for what the agency called a “routine interception.” But the news release didn’t say where the intercept occurred or how many U.S. aircraft were sent to accompany the Russian planes through the aircraft identification zone.
It’s not unusual for Russian aircraft to fly through the Alaska air-ID zone, which is international airspace. NORAD says the Russian aircraft didn’t enter U.S. or Canadian airspace, and weren’t considered a threat to either nation.
But some observers noted that the interception occurred while the military was conducting a large-scale training exercise called Northern Edge around Alaska — and while the U.S. and NATO are supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
