menu-control
The Jerusalem Post

US fighter jets intercept Russian planes near Alaska

 
A US Air Force F-16 receives fuel from a fuel boom suspended from a US Air Force KC-10 Extender during mid-air refueling support to Operation Inherent Resolve over Iraqi and Syrian airspace, March 15, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS/HAMAD I MOHAMMED)
A US Air Force F-16 receives fuel from a fuel boom suspended from a US Air Force KC-10 Extender during mid-air refueling support to Operation Inherent Resolve over Iraqi and Syrian airspace, March 15, 2017.
(photo credit: REUTERS/HAMAD I MOHAMMED)

The US aircraft involved in the incident included F-16 and F-22 fighter jets, KC-135 stratotankers and E-3 AWACS, according to the statement.

US fighter jets intercepted six Russian aircraft operating in international airspace near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said on Sunday.

The Russian planes included TU-95 bombers, IL-78 tankers and SU-35 fighter jets, NORAD said in a written statement.

Interception was a "routine"

NORAD described the interception as "routine" and said they happen roughly six or seven times per year in the so-called Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone.

"This Russian activity in the North American ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat," NORAD aid in the statement. "NORAD tracks and positively identifies all military aircraft that enter the ADIZ, routinely monitors aircraft movements and as necessary escorts them from the ADIZ."

Advertisement
Shoreline in the town of Gambell, St Lawrence Island, Alaska. (credit: 176th Wing Alaska Air National Guard via WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Shoreline in the town of Gambell, St Lawrence Island, Alaska. (credit: 176th Wing Alaska Air National Guard via WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

The US aircraft involved in the incident included F-16 and F-22 fighter jets, KC-135 stratotankers and E-3 AWACS, according to the statement.

×
Email:
×
Email: