U.S. fighter jets scrambled on Wednesday to intercept four Russian military aircraft flying near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) reported a day later. The two Tu-95s and two Su-35s entered the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone — international airspace adjacent to U.S. and Canadian territory. NORAD deployed an E-3 surveillance plane, four F-16 fighters, and four KC-135 tankers to “positively identify and intercept” the Russian aircraft.
In its press release, NORAD emphasized that Russian planes remained in international airspace, describing the Russian activity in the Alaskan ADIZ as “regular” and non-threatening.
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The incident came as Denmark continued investigating large, sophisticated drones spotted near Copenhagen Airport this week — disruptions officials linked to a “capable actor.” Earlier this month, NATO forces intercepted Russian drones that crossed into Polish airspace, while Estonia said Russian warplanes had violated its airspace soon after.
NORAD has faced its own challenges with Russian warplanes, even in the Alaskan ADIZ. In September 2024, the command shared footage showing a Russian jet buzzing one of its aircraft off the coast of Alaska, flying within a few feet of the plane. More recently, on August 26, 2025, NORAD said that it had detected and monitored a Russian military reconnaissance aircraft inside the ADIZ after intercepting the same type of spy plane over the region three times in the preceding days.