Two Russian bombers and fighter escorts breached the American air defense zone near Alaska this week and were met by U.S fighters, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, said.
The incursion took place Tuesday over the Bering Sea when two nuclear-capable Tu-95 Bear H bombers and two Su-35 Flanker jets conducted a mission inside the Alaska air defense identification zone (ADIZ), a perimeter around sovereign territory.
All the jets remained in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace, NORAD said in a statement.
In response, NORAD launched two F-35 and four F-16 jets, one E-3 airborne early warning and control aircraft, and three KC-135 refueling tankers.
The command released photos showing an F-16 intercepting a Tu-95 over the Bering Sea and an F-16 shadowing a Tu-95 and Su-35.
“This Russian activity in the contiguous U.S./Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat,” the command said.
The air defense zone is outside sovereign airspace and is used to identify potential security threats.
NORAD used a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars, and fighter aircraft in tracking suspect aircraft.
“NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America,” the command said.
On July 24, 2024, NORAD jets intercepted two Chinese Xian H-6K bombers and two Russian Tu-95MS Bear bombers flying near Alaska.
Both were nuclear-capable bombers and were intercepted by U.S. F-16s and F-35s and Canadian CF-18 fighter jets. That incursion also breached the Alaskan ADIZ.
It was the first time Russian and Chinese bombers conducted a joint patrol and signaled the willingness of Beijing and Moscow to coordinate strategic nuclear forces and to test American resolve with activity close to the U.S. homeland.
Both bombers are capable of launching long-range cruise missiles.
A joint report by the Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute and the Japanese Air Self Defense Force’s Air and Space Studies Institute, published this month, said a Nov. 30 bomber patrol by Chinese H-6N and Russian Tu-95 bombers for the first time practiced conducting a strategic nuclear attack on the U.S. island of Guam.
“The patrol’s flight path through the Miyako Strait connects directly with the western Pacific Ocean, and the [People’s Liberation Army air force] can put a massive U.S. Air Force base on Guam within range of that [air launched ballistic missile] just from a point at which one of its H-6Ns entered the Pacific Ocean,” the report said.
“So, one can say that the combined patrol that has come closest to U.S. territory was the patrol near Alaska, but the combined patrol that has presented a clear and serious threat to U.S. territory was that of November 30.”
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.