US fighter jets intercept 6 Russian aircraft near Alaska

By Firdevs Bulut Kartal

TORONTO (AA) - Six Russian aircraft were detected and intercepted by the Alaskan Region of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) last week, the command said in a statement Monday.

In the statement, NORAD said it "detected, tracked, positively identified and intercepted six Russian aircraft operating in and near the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on May 11, 2023".

The intercepted Russian aircraft were Tu-95 bombers, IL-78 tankers and Su-35 fighter aircraft, said the statement.

NORAD aircraft, including F-16 fighters, F-22 fighters, KC-135 Stratotankers, and E-3 AWACS, conducted the mission.

"Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. These flights occurred as several planned large-scale U.S. military training exercises are ongoing within Alaska," the statement added.

"Russian activity in the North American ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat. NORAD tracks and positively identifies all military aircraft that enter the ADIZ, routinely monitors aircraft movements and as necessary, escorts them from the ADIZ," it said.

NORAD observes an average of six to seven intercepts of Russian military aircraft in the ADIZ each year, with yearly variations ranging from as high as 15 to as low as zero.