American fighter jets were scrambled to identify and intercept four Russian military aircraft flying near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said today, quoted by the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
A statement from NORAD says that two Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighters were detected and tracked in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone yesterday. Nine American aircraft – An E-3 Sentry command and control aircraft, four F-16 fighter jets and four KC-135 refueling aircraft were scrambled to identify and intercept the Russian aircraft.
The Russian fighter jets flew in international airspace at all times and did not enter U.S. or Canadian airspace, the statement said. Such Russian flights near Alaska are routine and are not considered a threat, NORAD added.