Russian bomber, fighter aircraft detected in Alaska defense zone, NORAD says
Four Russian military aircraft passed through the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone on Monday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said.
All four aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter either American or Canadian sovereign airspace, NORAD said in a press release. There was no intercept, it added.
The Russian group consisted of two Tu-95 "Bear" strategic bombers and two Su-35 "Flanker" fighter aircraft, Capt. Rebecca Garand, a spokesperson for NORAD, told ABC News.
"Incursions of the Alaska ADIZ by Russian military aircraft occur regularly and are not seen as a threat," Garand said. "Since Russia resumed long-range aviation activities in 2007, the number of incursions fluctuates annually, but we have seen as many as 15 in one year to as low as zero."
Monday's detection is the fifth such incident in September so far, according to NORAD's public statements noting detections. The command identified Russian IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft inside the Alaska ADIZ earlier this month.
The ADIZ begin at the limit of national airspace -- in this case that of the U.S. and Canada. Such zones require "the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security," NORAD said.
The command "employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to track aircraft and inform appropriate actions," it said in its press release.
"NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America," it added.
