Russian fighter jets invade the airspace over Alaska twice in three days. However, air defense does not classify the incidents as a threat.
COLORADO SPRINGS – Two Russian planes entered an air defense zone outside Alaska airspace on Thursday. It was the second time this week that such an incident has occurred, the North American Aerospace Defense Command NORAD reported on Friday (February 9).
Two Russian military aircraft spotted in Alaska airspace
The military jets were located in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) but remained in international airspace and did not enter sovereign American or Canadian airspace, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement. The flights were observed after four Russian aircraft entered the ADIZ on Tuesday, prompting NORAD, a joint facility of the USA and Canada's air surveillance and air defence, issued a similar statement.
“Regular Russian air activity” around Alaska: Air defense sees no threat
An ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends and is defined as a section of international airspace where the identification of aircraft is required in the interest of national security. “These Russian activities in the Alaska ADIZ occur regularly and are not considered a threat,” NORAD continued on Friday.
The statement comes after Moscow hinted at claiming sovereignty over Alaska and a Putin confidant's demand for the return of Alaska, which was rejected by the US. Alaska was purchased by the United States from the then Russian Empire in 1867 and became the 49th state of the United States in 1959. Alaska and Russia are separated by the Bering Strait and only about 85 kilometers apart.
Institute for the Study of War: “Parameters of what constitutes Russian property unclear”
It is unclear why the Russian military aircraft could have flown in Alaska's ADIZ, the news portal reports Newsweek, which, according to its own information, asked the Russian Foreign Ministry for a statement on Friday.
The Washington, DC-based think tank “Institute for the Study of War” presented in its “Assessment of the Russian offensive campaign” in January noted that the “precise parameters of what constitutes current or historical Russian property are also unclear.” However, the new asset management authority's jurisdiction could include Alaska, much of Eastern and Central Europe – including countries that are now NATO allies – as well as parts of Central Asia and Scandinavia.
Russian planes repeatedly appear over Alaska: USA sent interceptors
Already in February last year Russian military aircraft were flying over Alaska discovered. Also in May and July, the United States was forced to send fighter jets to intercept a Russian military aircraft after it entered the Alaska ADIZ during a large-scale American military exercise in the region.
On May 11, the US intercepted six Russian military jets, also during an American exercise. Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Patrick S. Ryder said at the time: “This is not the first Russian flight. It probably won’t be the last either.”
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