US, Canada jets intercept Russia reconnaissance aircraft above Alaska: NORAD

US and Royal Canadian air force fighter jets have intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has claimed.

The US F-22 Raptors and Canadian CF-18 Hornets “intercepted two Russian Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone on Monday,” NORAD said on Twitter on Tuesday.

“NORAD continues to operate in the Arctic across multiple domains,” NORAD Commander General Terrence O’Shaughnessy said in the Twitter statement. “As we continue to conduct exercises and operations in the north, we are driven by a single unyielding priority: defending the homelands.”

Alaska houses the Pentagon's strategic missile interceptor base at Fort Greely, about 100 miles southeast of Fairbanks.

“The @RCAF_ARC  and the @usairforce  doing what we do best, working together under  @NORADCommand  to keep North America safe, intercepting two Russian Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft yesterday entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone,” the Royal Canadian Air Force said on Twitter.

Moscow has repeatedly expressed concerns about US missile systems that it believes are being deployed around the world to counter Russian missiles.

According to NORAD, “The Russian aircraft entered the ADIZ north of Alaska and remained within it for approximately 4 hours. NORAD fighter aircraft escorted the TU-142s for the duration of their time in the ADIZ.”

It further added that the 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.”

ME