ALASKA: US fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers in international air space off western Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said on Saturday.
The long-range Tu-95 “Bear” bombers were “intercepted and visually identified” on Friday morning by a pair of Alaska-based NORAD F-22 Raptors as the Russian aircraft flew in the Air Defense Identification Zone, north of the Aleutian Islands, said Canadian Army Major Andrew Hennessy, of NORAD public affairs.
The Air Defense Identification Zone extends for about 200 miles (322 kilometres) from the coastline, mostly in international airspace.
“At no time did the Russian bombers enter North American sovereign airspace,” Hennessy said in a statement to AFP.
