Russian Jets Spotted Near Alaska, Second Incident In A Month: US Military

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) deployed fighter jets to identify and intercept four Russian military aircraft flying nearby Alaska on Wednesday, CBS News reported.

This is the second incident of its kind within a month. Previously, in August, the US military intercepted a similar situation where US fighter jets responded to Russian aircraft in the same manner in the same region, according to CBS.

NORAD reported that the Russian aircraft consisted of two Tu-95 long-range bombers and two Su-35 fighter jets. These aircraft were operating within the Alaska Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), an area of international airspace adjacent to the US and Canada territory.

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CBS also reported that NORAD dispatched an E-3 early warning aircraft, four F-16 fighter jets, and four KC-135 tanker planes to observe and intercept the Russian aircraft. Officials confirmed that the planes did not cross into US or Canadian sovereign airspace.

Although Russian flights in the ADIZ are not uncommon, NORAD stated these incidents are carefully monitored as part of regular air defence procedures.

NORAD explained the ADIZ as a specific zone in international airspace requiring all aircraft to identify themselves for national security reasons. It also confirmed that none of the Russian flights have crossed US or Canadian borders to date.

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In September 2024, NORAD released footage of a Russian jet flying dangerously close to a US aircraft off the Alaskan coast, which a US general characterised as "unsafe and unprofessional, " CBS reported.

The incident occurs while European countries remain highly alert to Russian air activity.

On Thursday, Denmark shut down an airport after an unauthorised drone entered its airspace and remained there for more than three hours, according to CNN. This marks the second similar incident in Denmark as Europe deals with suspected Russian drone attacks.

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Poland and Estonia also accused Russia of multiple drone breaches of their airspace earlier this week.

Danish authorities are examining large drones that caused disruptions to flights near Copenhagen Airport earlier this week, labelling them as the actions of a "capable actor."

Trump-Putin meeting

This follows the August meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Alaska summit, where they discussed the possibility of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

While there has been no update on that meeting, Trump has warned to impose sanctions on Russia and other countries buying oil from Moscow, accusing them of "funding a war".

This week at the United Nations General Assembly, Trump said, "In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs."

Trump also reflected on his previous diplomatic efforts, mentioning that despite a summit with Putin in Alaska, where he encouraged the Russian president to negotiate with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, a peace agreement did not materialise.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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