Russian Fighter Planes Fly By Alaskan Airspace For Second Day

On Tuesday, US fighter jets reportedly intercepted four Russian airplanes in Alaska that had entered NORAD’s Air Defense Identification Zone.

The event was reportedly the second time in two days that Russian aircraft were in the area, in what appeared to be a new sign of hostilities between Russia and the U.S.

The Alaskan Region of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced Thursday that it spotted, tracked, identified, and intercepted four Russian aircraft entering the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

Two NORAD F-35A fighters, two F-16 fighters, one E-3 Sentry, and two KC-135 Stratotankers intercepted the Russian aircraft.

The Russian grouping was reportedly comprised of TU-95 BEAR-H bombers and SU-35 and SU-30 fighter planes.

The bombers in the grouping are capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

Officials said that the Russian planes stayed in international airspace near the United States and Canada and did not technically enter the country’s airspace.

NORAD aircraft had last intercepted Russian jets on Monday.

Two F-16s intercepted four Russian planes in that incident.

Previously, no Russian jets had probed the region since October.

Nonetheless, tensions between Washington and Moscow have remained high owing to Russia’s war in Ukraine.