According to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), Russian warplanes were sighted near the Alaskan coast and monitored by the U.S. military. The Russian aircraft did not breach American or Canadian airspace and were not considered a threat. The specific type and quantity of Russian aircraft were not disclosed by U.S. officials. Although the Russian planes remained in international airspace, they entered a section known as the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), where aircraft are expected to identify themselves. The ADIZ is an international airspace region surrounding the U.S. and Canada’s sovereign airspace, closely monitored for security purposes by both countries. This incident occurred shortly after American and Canadian fighter jets were mobilized to shadow multiple Russian warplanes in the Arctic. NORAD later deployed two F-16 fighter jets from Alaska to Greenland as a precautionary measure to enhance NORAD’s presence in the Arctic region. The U.S. military has observed Russian military activity near Alaska on multiple occasions in recent months, including instances in February and December. These encounters have involved Russian military aircraft flying in proximity to the state. NORAD has previously documented a Russian fighter jet engaging in unsafe and unprofessional behavior near a NORAD aircraft off the Alaskan coast. In September of the same year, the U.S. military intercepted four Russian and Chinese bombers in international airspace off the Alaskan coast.
