The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, dispatched U.S. aircraft Wednesday to intercept four Russian military planes flying in international airspace off Alaska.
A NORAD news release says the agency detected and tracked two Russian Su-35 fighter jets and two Tu-95 bombers as they entered the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone.
In response, NORAD sent four Alaska-based F-16 fighters, four KC-135 air tankers and an E-3 surveillance aircraft. The formation intercepted the Russian planes and escorted them through the zone.
Russian aircraft often fly through the air defense identification zones, which NORAD defines as international airspace that "requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security."
According to the news release, the Russian planes remained in international airspace and didn't enter American or Canadian airspace.
A NORAD spokesperson said the two TU-95s and two SU-35s flew inside the air defense zone for about 53 minutes, including within 30 nautical miles of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.
The news release says the Russian incursions into the U.S. and Canadian Air Defense ID zones occurs regularly and is not considered a threat.
The agency's last reported response to a Russian sortie into the zones occurred a month ago.
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