NORAD Intercepts Russian Warplanes Near Alaska

North American Aerospace Defense Command intercepted Russian warplanes flying near the coast of Alaska on Sept. 24, the command announced. 

The two Tu-95 “Bears” and two Su-35 “Flankers” entered the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), a buffer zone outside American and Canadian airspace where aircraft are expected to readily identify themselves. 

NORAD responded by scrambling an E-3 AWACS, four F-16 fighters, and four KC-135 tankers to intercept the Russian planes after they were detected in the ADIZ.

“The Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” NORAD said in a release. “This Russian activity in the Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.” 

The incident, however, does come at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and the U.S. and its allies. On Sept. 10, NATO fighter jets shot down Russian drones that entered Poland’s airspace during a large-scale attack on Ukraine. It was the first time ever the alliance has used force against Russia aircraft to defend NATO airspace. 

NATO then launched a new operation called Eastern Sentry in response, to bulk up defenses on its eastern border with Russia. Since then, the alliance has intercepted Russian drones and manned aircraft over Estonia and the Baltic Sea. Some allies such as Poland and Sweden have said they are prepared to shoot down the Russian planes if they continue to violate their airspace. 

NORAD, for its part, has not announced any Russian violations of U.S. or Canadian airspace. But the command did note a string of four ADIZ incursions over six days in August, including flights by an Il-20 COOT electronic intelligence surveillance aircraft. 

Experts at the time told Air & Space Forces Magazine the run of incidents was unusual and likely an attempt to gather intelligence on the large-scale U.S. Indo-Pacific Command-run exercise Northern Edge, but not a direct threat to the U.S. homeland. 

This is the ninth time in 2025 that NORAD has announced Russian flights in the Alaskan ADIZ. It announced 12 flights in 2024, eight in 2023, two in 2022, and two in 2021.