US fighter jets intercept Russian warplanes off Alaskan coast
US fighter jets have been scrambled Thursday to intercept a number of Russian bombers, fighter jets and a spy aircraft that have been noticed flying off the coast of Alaska, US authorities stated.
Two Russian Tu-95s bombers, two Su-35s fighter planes and an A-50 spy aircraft have been detected within the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, the North American Aerospace Defense Command reported in an announcement.
NORAD stated it launched two F-16s, two F-35s and 4 KC-135s to escort the Russian plane till they’d departed the Alaskan ADIZ.
The Russian plane didn’t enter US or Canadian airspace, stated NORAD, which described Russia’s exercise within the Alaskan ADIZ as an everyday prevalence that was not thought of a risk.
The Alaskan ADIZ is a stretch of worldwide airspace that begins the place US and Canadian sovereign airspace ends. According to NORAD, it’s a “defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.”
Russian Defense Ministry/Anadolu through Getty Images
In September 2025, the US additionally scrambled fighter jets to intercept Russian Tu-95s and Su-35s within the Alaskan ADIZ. And final August, NORAD intercepted a Russian IL-20 COOT, a Cold War-era reconnaissance plane, 4 instances in a single week.
In September 2024a 15-second video posted by NORAD confirmed a Russian fighter jet flying simply ft away from a NORAD plane within the Alaskan ADIZ.
in July 2024each Russian and Chinese bombers have been intercepted by the US after coming into the Alaskan ADIZ. At the time, a US protection official informed CBS News this marked the primary time that Russian and Chinese plane had ever collectively entered the Alaska ADIZ, and the primary time Chinese H-6 bombers had encroached off Alaska.
