U.S. fighter jets scrambled to intercept Russian warplanes close to Alaska

U.S. fighter jets have been scrambled Wednesday to establish and intercept 4 Russian warplanes flying close to Alaska, the North American Aerospace Protection Command stated in a press release. 

NORAD stated two Russian Tu-95 long-range strategic bombers and two Su-35 fighter jets have been flying within the Alaskan Air Protection Identification Zone (ADIZ), which is worldwide airspace that abuts U.S. and Canadian sovereign airspace.

NORAD responded Wednesday by sending an E-3 early warning and management plane, together with 4 F-16s and 4 KC-135 tanker planes, “to positively establish and intercept” the Russian plane within the Alaskan ADIZ.

NORAD stated Russian army exercise within the ADIZ is widespread and never thought-about a risk, but it surely was the newest in a sequence of flights by Russian plane seen by many as testing the preparedness of U.S. and allied NATO nations. It got here as officers in Denmark continued investigating still-unattributed, massive drones that flew near Copenhagen Airport on Tuesday and Wednesday, disrupting site visitors.

Danish police have stated the drones have been operated by a “succesful actor.”

European nations have been on alert amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russian drones have been shot down by Polish and allied NATO warplanes after crossing into Polish airspace on Sept. 9. Ten days later, Estonia stated a number of Russian fighter jets entered its airspace.

The Russian planes entered the Alaskan Air Protection Identification Zone on Wednesday about one month after a very related incident, which additionally noticed the U.S. scramble fighter jets for an interception.

In late August, NORAD stated it had detected and surveilled a Russian army reconnaissance plane contained in the ADIZ after intercepting the identical sort of spy aircraft over the area 3 times within the previous days.

In September 2024, NORAD posted dramatic video of a Russian jet flying “inside just some ft” of NORAD plane off the coast of Alaska. On the time, a U.S. common stated the conduct of the jet’s crew was “unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all.”

The ADIZ is “an outlined stretch of worldwide airspace that requires the prepared identification of all plane within the curiosity of nationwide safety,” NORAD stated.

Not one of the conditions so far has resulted in Russian warplanes getting into U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace.