‘Not seen as a threat’: Military intercepts ‘routine’ Russian aircraft, NORAD says
Mike Brest
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The Alaskan region of North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, tracked and intercepted four Russian aircraft that were entering and operating within the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone on Monday.
The Russian aircraft, which included TU-95 BEAR-H and SU-35 fighter aircraft, remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace, NORAD said in a statement on Tuesday. Two NORAD F-16 fighters intercepted the Russian aircraft, and they had the backing of two F-35A fighters, one E-3 Sentry, and two KC-135 Stratotankers.
WHITE HOUSE SAYS NO INDICATION THREE OBJECTS SHOT DOWN WERE CHINESE SURVEILLANCE
“This Russian activity in the North American ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat, nor is the activity seen as provocative,” the statement said, while the statement’s headline was, “NORAD conducts routine intercept of Russian aircraft entering Air Defense Identification Zone.”
These tactics are common for Russians, which have done it an average of six to seven times a year since they resumed the activity in 2007. The highest in the time period was 15, and its lowest was zero.
This incident is not related to the recent incidents involving airborne objections that the U.S. military have shot down in recent weeks.
“NORAD also assesses that this Russian flight activity is in no way related to recent NORAD and U.S. Northern Command operations associated with airborne objects over North America during the last two weeks,” the statement continued.
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The Biden administration acknowledged that a Chinese spy balloon traversed the U.S. in late January and early February. The military ultimately shot it down once it reached the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 4, and in the two weeks since, the U.S. military has shot down three additional objects, though officials said on Tuesday they have not seen any indication the three more recent incidents are objects belonging to the Chinese government.
The military has already had some success recovering the Chinese balloon taken down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina, while the other three are posing much more difficult recoveries.