USA scrambles fighter jets to intercept Russian planes off Alaska

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) scrambled fighter jets on Wednesday to identify and intercept four Russian military planes off Alaska, the U.S and Canadian defense organization said in a statement on Thursday.

NORAD detected and tracked two Russian Tu-95s and two Su-35s operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, the statement said. NORAD said it responded by mobilizing an E-3, four F-16s, and four KC-135 tanker aircraft.

The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace, NORAD said.

The Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone is an area of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft for national security purposes, NORAD said.

Photo: North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft positively identified and intercepted a Russian Tu-95 military aircraft over the Bering Sea, in July 2025. NORAD