American fighters rose to intercept two Russian strategic bombers near Alaska.
This was reported by the press service of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
On April 17th, NORAD detected, tracked and identified two Russian Tu-95 aircraft approaching and operating near the Alaska Air Defense Area of Responsibility. They were intercepted.
Russian planes remained in international airspace and did not enter US or Canadian airspace.
The command noted that such flights occur regularly and are not considered a threat or provocation. Since Russia resumed regular long-range aviation in 2007, NORAD has recorded an average of six to seven interceptions of Russian military aircraft each year.
- On February 14, two Dutch F-35 fighter jets intercepted a group of three Russian warplanes near Poland and took them out. The planes were approaching from Kaliningrad.