Alaska: American fighters intercepted Russian bombers

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The Russian aircraft “remained in international airspace and did not enter the airspace of the United States or Canada,” the North American administration clarified

The US Air Force intercepted on Monday two Russian Tu-95 bombers off the coast of Alaska, the United States and Canada’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NORAD) announced today.

Two fighters “intercepted two Russian Tu-95 Bear-H bombers as they entered the Alaska Air Defense Reconnaissance Zone,” NORAD said in a statement.

The Russian aircraft “remained in international airspace and did not enter the airspace of the United States or Canada,” the North American administration clarified.

An air defense identification zone (Adiz) is a perimeter in which air traffic is monitored by the military of one or more countries, beyond its national airspace, to give it extra time to react in the event of an enemy maneuver.

The Alaska Belt extending up to 320 km from the coasts.

At a time when tensions between the US and Russia are high over Moscow’s nuclear threats, the US military clarified that Russian activity in the US reconnaissance zone “is not viewed as a threat or a provocation”.

The interceptions of Russian aircraft in this very close zone in the Russian Far East are relatively common.

“NORAD employs a multi-layered defense of satellites, ground-based radars, airborne radars and fighter jets to identify any aircraft and recognize any inappropriate activity,” the US military warned. “We are prepared to use a range of options to defend North American and Arctic sovereignty.”

Russia is conducting its annual “Grom” military exercise this time around, which includes ballistic missile tests.

RES-EMP

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