US fighter jets were dispatched to intercept Vladimir Putin’s aircraft near Alaska as NATO allies express growing concerns about Russian airspace violations. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) reported detecting two Russian Tu-95s and two Su-35s operating within Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone. While these aircraft did not breach US or Canadian sovereign airspace, all entries into this zone undergo close monitoring for potential threats.
In response, nine US aircraft, including an E-3 Sentry command and control plane, four F-16s, and four KC-135 tankers, were scrambled to identify and intercept the Russian jets, according to NORAD. This incident follows previous Russian military aircraft sightings within the ADIZ, with NORAD intercepting similar planes on multiple occasions this year.
NORAD emphasized that the ADIZ is a designated international airspace segment requiring the identification of all aircraft for national security purposes. The organization mobilized an E-3, four F-16s, and four KC-135 tanker aircraft to address the recent Russian presence.
Recent events include Danish authorities investigating unidentified drones near Copenhagen airport and the downing of Russian drones after crossing Polish airspace and entering Estonia’s airspace. In a similar incident in September 2024, NORAD shared footage of a Russian jet flying dangerously close to US aircraft off the Alaskan coast, prompting criticism of the Russian crew’s behavior as unsafe and unprofessional.
Despite these incidents, Russian warplanes have not trespassed into US or Canadian sovereign airspace. The escalation follows statements by Donald Trump suggesting NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft entering their airspace, with the US president indicating conditional support for NATO allies in such scenarios. Trump’s efforts to arrange talks between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have faced obstacles, with Putin showing little interest in engaging while intensifying attacks on Ukraine.