The US Air Force intercepted four Russian TU-142 reconnaissance aircraft some 120 kilometers off Alaska on Saturday.
The Russian aircraft had entered the “Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone”, said the North American Air Defense Command (Norad), which is responsible for the United States and Canada. The Russian machines were therefore in the zone for around eight hours. However, they did not penetrate North American airspace.
The air defense identification zone extends from the US coast the equivalent of more than 320 kilometers and extends primarily to international airspace. Monitoring them gives the participating states a reaction time to counter possible attacks.
It is the fourth time this month that the United States has intercepted Russian military aircraft near Alaska.
On May 29, Russia, in turn, released images of two American B-1 bombers intercepted by Russian air defense over the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea near Russia.
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