US fighters intercept Russian aircraft off Alaska for 3rd time in a week
LONDON -- Fighters from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on Sunday intercepted a Russian aircraft in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone for the third time in the past week, the command said in a statement.
One E-3 Sentry command and control aircraft, two F-16 fighters and two KC-135s Stratotankers were dispatched "to intercept and visually identify" a Russian Il-20 surveillance and reconnaissance operating in the Alaskan ADIZ, NORAD said.
The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian airspace, NORAD said in its statement. "This Russian activity in the Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat," it added.
An ADIZ "begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security," NORAD said.
Over the past week, American F-16 fighters have been dispatched twice -- once on Aug. 21 and once on Aug. 20 -- to intercept Russian Il-20 aircraft operating in the Alaska ADIZ.
"NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions," the command said in its Sunday statement.
"NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America," it added.
ABC News' Alex Ederson contributed to this report.
