U.S. fighter jets intercept Russian bombers near western coast of Alaska
Two U.S. fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers flying near the western coast of Alaska on Friday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement. The incident happened at 10 a.m. Friday as the Russian jets were flying in the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) around Alaska's western coast, north of the Aleutian Islands.
The two Russian TU-95 "Bear" long-range bombers were intercepted and escorted out of the ADIZ -- an airspace that extends about 200 miles from the coastline -- by two NORAD F-22 fighter jets, NORAD spokesperson Canadian Army Major Andrew Hennessy said in the statement.
At no time during the incident did the Russian bombers enter North American sovereign airspace, Hennessy said.
Earlier this month, a Russian fighter jet intercepted a U.S. Navy spy plane above the Baltic Sea in what the U.S. called "safe" but "unprofessional." In January, another Russian fighter jet came within five feet of a U.S. spy plane over the Black Sea. The U.S. State Department then said Russia was "flagrantly violating existing agreements and international law."