NORAD Detects, Tracks Russian Military Aircraft Flying Near Alaska

NORAD highlighted that this activity from the Russian air force in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone ‘occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.’

A KC-135 Stratotanker from the 168th Air Refueling Wing refuels F-22 Raptors from the 3rd Wing over the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex flying along side with an F-15 Eagles from the 144th Fighter Wing, on April 18, 2022. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Charles Vaughn

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on Feb. 19 said it detected and tracked Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

NORAD said in a statement that two Tu-95 strategic bombers, two Su-35 fighter jets, and one Beriev A-50 surveillance aircraft were flying through the zone in international airspace.

In response, the command said it launched “two F-16s, two F-35s, one E-3, and four KC-135s to intercept, positively identify, and escort the aircraft until they departed the Alaskan ADIZ.”

According to NORAD, an ADIZ begins where a country’s sovereign airspace ends and is defined as a zone of international airspace where a country needs to be able to identify and observe aircraft moving through it, in the interest of national security.

The command, a U.S.–Canadian air defense organization, said that the Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian airspace.

NORAD highlighted that this activity from the Russian air force in the Alaskan ADIZ “occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.”

Other detection and tracking operations of Russian aircraft in the Alaskan ADIZ occurring in the past year included an instance in September and several instances in August.

NORAD said in the statement it “employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions.”

Arctic Sentry

The recent encounter comes as the United States and the rest of the NATO allies increase focus on defending the Arctic. On Feb. 11, NATO launched Arctic Sentry, a wide-scale military exercise in the Arctic and High North.

Allied Command Operations will execute a multi-domain exercise, led by Joint Force Command Norfolk, integrating air, land, maritime, and potentially space and cyberspace assets, according to NATO.

“Arctic Sentry leverages the strength of the alliance by bringing together NATO and allied activities in the High North into one overarching operational approach to the region, making clear our commitment to ensuring Arctic security and indeed the security of the whole alliance together,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in his announcement at a press conference at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, said in a statement posted to X that the exercise “underscored the Alliance’s commitment to safeguard its members and maintain stability in one of the world’s most strategically significant areas.”

A Russian fighter jet flies close to a North American Aerospace Defense Command near the coast of Alaska, in this Sept. 23, 2024 photo. NORAD

In September 2024, a Russian fighter jet flew close to a NORAD aircraft near the coast of Alaska, according to the command.

A 15-second video posted by NORAD on social media at the time showed a military jet flying several feet away from the NORAD aircraft, banking to the right and left.

“The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all—not what you’d see in a professional air force,” Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of NORAD, said at the time.

Jill McLaughlin and Jack Phillips contributed to this report.