By Ellen Mitchell; Edited by News Gate Team
The U.S. military said it intercepted four Russian warplanes near Alaska on Monday.
© Provided by The Hill
According to a statement released by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on Tuesday, the command claimed to have identified four Russian aircraft, including SU-35 fighters and TU-95 BEAR-H bombers, as they entered and flew over the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
Related Posts:
The ADIZ, which includes the international airspace outside of the U.S. and Canada close to the far-northern state, was swiftly alerted by NORAD officials who claimed they had anticipated the Russian activity and were able to quickly scramble two F-16 fighters to intercept the Russian aircraft.
Additionally sent to help were two F-35A fighters, an E-3 Sentry, and two KC-135 Stratotankers.
The command noted that the incident is in no way related to objects shot down over the United States and Canada this month and that the Russian aircraft did not enter the two countries’ sovereign airspace.
The most recent such incident occurred in October. NORAD routinely monitors foreign aircraft in the ADIZ and escorts them out as necessary. Two Russian bombers violated the airspace in the event.
Since 2007 on average, six to seven Russian military aircraft have been intercepted in the ADIZ, and since then, neither a threat nor provocative conduct has been associated with it, according to NORAD.
However, due to Moscow’s conflict in Ukraine, which is nearing the conclusion of its first year, tensions between the U.S. and Russia continue to be high.
On Monday, three Russian airplanes were again spotted flying close to Polish airspace, and two Dutch F-35s engaged them in combat.
The United States is also on high alert after it and Canada shot down three unidentified objects over Alaska, Lake Huron and Canadian territory in the past week, in addition to the massive suspected Chinese spy balloon shot off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4.
By Ellen Mitchell; Edited by News Gate Team
