Russian Aircraft Intercepted Approaching U.S. Airspace

After Russian reconnaissance aircraft came within 45 miles of the coast of Alaska on Saturday, the commanding general of the joint U.S.–Canada North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said they are seeing repeated incursions into the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, known as ADIZ.

F-22 fighters assigned to NORAD were scrambled to intercept two pairs of Russian Tu-142 that entered the ADIZ from the west and the north of Alaska. One pair of Russian aircraft spent about four hours in the zone near a spot where the U.S. Navy was conducting submarine operations in the Arctic, NORAD officials said.

“We continue to see repeated Russian military aviation activity in the Arctic and we will defend the U.S. and Canada against these threats emanating from our northern approaches,” said Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, commander of NORAD. -Full Report