(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. intercepted Russian aircraft flying off Alaska in international airspace as they approached an identification zone for two straight days this week, according to officials.
Planes are required to identify themselves when they approach the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ. If they don’t, U.S. aircraft are launched to check on them.
The Alaskan Region of North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, announced on Thursday an incident that took place on Feb. 14 in which U.S. Air Force F-35s intercepted four Russian aircraft, including two Tu-95 bombers. The U.S. announced on Tuesday it had intercepted two Russian Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bombers on “a seven-hour flight over neutral waters of the Chukchi Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk” on Feb. 13.
Neither time did the Russian aircraft enter the U.S. or Canadian airspace, according to officials.
“This Russian activity near the North American ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat, nor is the activity seen as provocative,” NORAD said in a statement Thursday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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