U.S. military fighter jets were dispatched on Tuesday to monitor a Russian spy plane spotted near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) reported.
This marks the fourth time in less than a week that NORAD has detected a Russian IL-20 COOT—a Cold War-era reconnaissance aircraft—flying in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), a corridor of international airspace where aircraft must be readily identified for national security purposes.
The same type of Russian plane was observed over the region on Aug. 20, Aug. 21, and Aug. 24. Each time, NORAD responded by deploying fighter jets to track the aircraft.
In the latest incident, NORAD sent an E-3 Sentry, two F-16s, and a KC-135 tanker to monitor the plane. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign territory. NORAD noted that such activity in the Alaskan ADIZ is regular and not considered a direct threat.
“NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions,” the command said. “NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America.”
Earlier in July, NORAD shared images of U.S. fighter jets intercepting Russian military aircraft inside the ADIZ. Other detections this year occurred in April and twice in February, when an F-35 Lightning II intercepted two Russian Tu-95 and two Su-35 aircraft. In all cases, the Russian planes stayed in international airspace.
In January, NORAD also deployed a combat air patrol unit to monitor multiple Russian military aircraft operating in the Arctic.
