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North American Aerospace Defense Command F-22s, CF-188s, supported by KC-135 Stratotanker and E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, intercepted two Russian Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone on Monday, March 9.
The Russian aircraft entered the ADIZ north of Alaska and remained within it for approximately four hours. NORAD fighter aircraft escorted the TU-142s for the duration of their time in the ADIZ. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace over the Beaufort Sea, and came as close as 50 nautical miles to the Alaskan coast. The Russian aircraft did not enter United States or Canadian sovereign airspace.
NORAD employs a layered defense network of radars, satellites, and fighter aircraft to identify aircraft and determine the appropriate response. The identification and monitoring of aircraft entering a U.S. or Canadian ADIZ demonstrates how NORAD executes its aerospace warning and aerospace control missions for the United States and Canada.
“NORAD continues to operate in the Arctic across multiple domains,” said Gen Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, NORAD commander. “As we continue to conduct exercises and operations in the north, we are driven by a single unyielding priority: defending the homelands.”
NORAD is a bi-national command focused on the defense of both the United States and Canada; the response to potential aerospace threats does not distinguish between the two nations and draws on forces from both countries.
