Russian military aircraft again detected off of Alaska, NORAD says
Two Russian military aircraft were "detected and tracked" on Friday in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, marking the second detection of the week, the U.S. military said.
"The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace," the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, said in a press release. "This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat."
The two Russian TU-142 aircraft, which are often used for maritime reconnaissance and antisubmarine warfare, detected on Friday followed two others that had been detected on Wednesday, NORAD said.
United States and Canadian fighter jets in July intercepted four Russian and Chinese bombers flying in international airspace near Alaska, officials said at the time.
The ADIZ international airspace stretches 150 miles from the American coastline. U.S. territorial airspace and waters begin 12 miles from the coastline.
NORAD did not identify what type of Russian aircraft were involved in Wednesday's detection.
