US Scrambles F-16 Fighters to Intercept Another Russian Spy Plane Near Alaska

The incident is the fourth time this month a Russian plane entered an Air Defense Identification Zone near Alaska.

An F-16 flies at the Air Dot Show Tour at the Orange County Airport in Montgomery, N.Y., on Aug. 23, 2025. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said it detected another Russian plane flying near Alaska on Tuesday and was forced to scramble U.S. military jets to respond, in what was the fourth time in about a week that Russia had flown planes near the state.

NORAD said a Russian military IL-20 surveillance aircraft was detected flying near the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

In response, NORAD sent an E-3, two F-16s, and one KC-135 tanker to identify the Russian plane in the identification zone, the Colorado-based command center said in a statement. No other details were provided about the incursion, including exactly where the Russian plane was flying in the ADIZ

“The Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” the statement said. “This Russian activity in the Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.”

The ADIZ begins where U.S. sovereign airspace ends and is a stretch of international airspace that requires all aircraft to provide identification for national security reasons, according to NORAD.

On Aug. 24, NORAD confirmed it had detected and tracked the same type of Russian plane near the ADIZ over the past weekend. NORAD deployed the same aircraft in that incident as well.

On Aug. 21 and Aug. 20, NORAD scrambled planes to respond to Russian planes flying in the identification zone, it said in separate announcements. In July, NORAD also scrambled jets after a Russian aircraft entered the zone, but the command center did not specify what type.

Tuesday’s encounter comes more than a week after President Donald Trump held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, to hash out a peace deal to end Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.

On Sunday, Vice President JD Vance provided an update on the talks, saying Russia has made “significant concessions” toward a negotiated settlement in its war with Ukraine and that he is confident progress is being made.

“I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in 3-1/2 years of this conflict,” Vance said in comments aired on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.” He also said Russia has “recognized that [it is] not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv.”

On Tuesday, U.S. special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff told Fox News that he would meet with Ukrainian representatives in New York this week.

“I’m meeting with the Ukrainians this week. So I will be meeting with them this week in New York, and that’s a big signal. We talk to the Russians every day,” Witkoff told Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” program.

Reuters contributed to this report.