- Strategic bombers and fighter jets were intercepted by North American air defense.
- The aircraft did not enter the US or Canadian airspace and did not constitute a threat.
- Russian flights were unrelated to the recent strange spate of flying objects shot down by the US military.
Several Russian strategic bombers and fighter jets were intercepted by North American air defense forces while flying through international airspace near Alaska, according to the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), in routine occurrences unrelated to tensions over Ukraine’s war.
The aircraft, which were discovered on Monday, did not enter the US or Canadian airspace and did not constitute a threat, according to a Feb. 14 statement from the joint US-Canadian center.
It further stated that the Russian flights were unrelated to the recent strange spate of flying objects shot down by the US military over North America, the details of which remain unclear.
NORAD F-16 fighters
“NORAD had anticipated this Russian activity … Two NORAD F-16 fighters intercepted the Russian aircraft,” it said.
The US also routinely conducts surveillance operations that do not penetrate the airspace of other countries, and such flights are a common aspect of military operations.
“NORAD routinely monitors foreign aircraft movements and as necessary, escorts them,” the statement added.
Russia stated on Wednesday that it had recently conducted multiple flights over international waters, including one over the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia.
It claimed that two of its Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers had flown over the Bering Sea with Su-30 fighter aircraft and that it had undertaken similar “regular” flights north of Norway and over international waters to Russia’s far east.
Russia’s defense ministry
“Long-range aviation pilots regularly perform flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, and Pacific Ocean,” Russia’s defense ministry said.
North American security forces have been on high alert since a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon broke into U.S. territory, forcing the United States to shoot it and other things down as it combs the skies.
While Russia has previously conducted flights over the Bering Sea, its neighbors in the region have grown increasingly anxious about Moscow’s military action since the country’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
Two Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted a formation of three Russian military planes near Poland and escorted them out, the Dutch defense minister said late Monday.
In recent years, NATO member nations have also increased military drills in the Arctic, as Russia has developed and updated its military infrastructure in the region.
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