Kathrine Frich
Russian military aircraft have repeatedly approached North American airspace in recent years.
This has prompted the United States and Canada to scramble fighter jets.
While these incidents rarely involve an actual violation of sovereign airspace, they regularly raise tensions and concerns about Moscow testing Western defenses.
Another such encounter occurred this week near Alaska.
Jets scrambled near Alaska
The United States and Canada launched several fighter jets after Russian military aircraft were detected near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said on Wednesday.
Two Russian TU-142 maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft were spotted inside the air defense identification zone.
The aircraft were escorted by NORAD forces until they left the area.
Aircraft involved in the operation
Several aircraft took part in the monitoring mission.
The United States deployed two F-22 fighter jets and two F-35 fighters, supported by four KC-135 tanker aircraft and an E-3 AWACS surveillance aircraft.
Canada also participated in the operation with two CF-18 fighter jets and a CC-150 tanker aircraft.
NORAD said the Russian planes did not enter the sovereign airspace of either the United States or Canada.
The air defense identification zone lies outside national airspace and functions as a buffer area where aircraft can be identified before approaching national territory.
Recurring encounters
According to NORAD, such encounters with Russian aircraft occur periodically and are not considered an immediate threat.
Military analysts say these flights are often used to test how quickly air defense systems react.
A similar incident occurred in February when two Russian TU-95 long-range bombers, two SU-35 fighter jets and a reconnaissance aircraft were intercepted near the region.
Sources: NORAD; dpa; Agerpres; Digi24.
