The US military intercepted several Russian and Chinese bombers in international airspace near the coast of Alaska on Wednesday.
Two Russian Tu-95s and two Chinese H-6s have entered what is known as the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement Wednesday evening.
The planes were “detected, tracked and intercepted,” NORAD said. They remained in the Alaska ADIZ and did not enter U.S. airspace.
The bombers were intercepted by U.S. F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, as well as Canadian CF-18s and other support aircraft, a U.S. defense official confirmed to CBS News.
The official said it was the first time Russian and Chinese aircraft had jointly entered Alaska’s ADIZ, and the first time Chinese H-6s had encroached on Alaska.
Although the Alaska ADIZ is considered international airspace, it is defined as an area where U.S. sovereign airspace ends, but “this requires the immediate identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security,” according to NORAD.
Russian and Chinese bomber activity was not “perceived as a threat,” NORAD noted.
Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
In February, the United States detected Four Russian warplanes flying in Alaska’s ADIZ, as well as another Russian military aircraft May 2023.
And in February 2023, Russian warplanes were intercepted there twice in one week. And that same month, a Chinese spy balloon has been detected near Alaska before eventually crossing the American continent and being shot down off the coast of South Carolina.
Military activities by the United States, Canada, Russia and China have also increased in the Arctic. Just a few days ago, Moscow said it fighter planes scrambled to intercept two long-range U.S. military bombers approaching the Russian border over the Barents Sea in the Arctic.
Russia has ramp up military operations in the Arctic Circle, including testing of advanced technologies hypersonic missilesEarlier this month, Canada’s Department of Defense announced plans to acquire 12 new submarines capable of navigating under sea ice to bolster the defense of the country’s vast Arctic coastal region.
China has expanded its own submarine fleetand Russian submarines continue to gather intelligence in Arctic waters, the Canadian Defense Department said.
— Eleanor Watson contributed to this report.
