4 Russian warplanes spotted flying near Alaska, NORAD says
Four Russian warplanes on Tuesday flew just outside of United States airspace near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said, marking the latest incident involving Russian aircraft off the coast of the U.S. state.
The military operation was routine, according to the agency, which detected and tracked the planes. Although the Russian aircraft remained in international air space, they entered a region beyond U.S. and Canadian sovereign air space called the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), where aircraft are expected to identify themselves, according to NORAD.
The ADIZ is a stretch of international air space bordering the sovereign space around the U.S. and Canada, which both countries monitor in order to, ideally, readily detect all aircraft passing through. Surveillance in the defense zone is maintained for national security reasons.
NORAD said it uses a "network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions" and "remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America."
The U.S. military reported similar actions from four Russian warplanes detected off the coast of Alaska in February and September. The report in September happened shortly after more than 100 U.S. soldiers were deployed temporarily to Alaska's remote Shemya Island in response to a spike in Russian military activity off the western boundaries of North America, which a U.S. general described as an exercise to test the military's readiness to deploy troops and equipment.
Their deployment coincided with eight Russian aircraft and four navy vessels, including two submarines, traveling close to Alaska while Russia and China conducted joint military drills. None of those planes entered U.S. air space.
On Sept. 30, NORAD posted a dramatic video of a Russian fighter jet flying close to a NORAD aircraft off the coast of Alaska. At the time, a U.S. geneal said "the conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all."
Russian warplanes have also been detected in neighboring air spaces in recent months. In November, NATO said Italy and Norway had each scrambled jets after Russian aircraft were seen over the Baltic Sea and along the Norwegian coast. NATO did not share details about the Russian activity but said the planes were "not adhering to international norms" when Italian and Norwegian forces were mobilized. Russia has ramped up military operations in the Arctic Circle, which includes part of Norway.
South Korea's military also said it scrambled fighter jets in November after five Chinese and six Russian military planes entered its air defense zone but did not cross into the country's air space.
The Associated Press and AFP contributed reporting.
