US and Canada scramble jets after Russian military planes spotted near Alaska

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has reported the detection and and tracking of two Russian Tu-142 military aircraft operating in the Air Defence Identification Zones (ADIZ) of Alaska and Canada.

NORAD deployed two US Air Force F-35 fighter aircraft, two F-22 fighter aircraft, four KC-135 refuelling aircraft, one E-3 AWACS aircraft, two Canadian CF-18 fighters and one CC-150 refuelling aircraft to positively identify, monitor and intercept the Russian planes within the US and Canadian ADIZ.

NORAD noted that the Russian aircraft had not entered the sovereign airspace of either the US or Canada.

Such Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not considered a direct threat, NORAD added.

An Air Defence Identification Zone is a designated area of international airspace in which all aircraft must be easily identified for national security purposes.

At the end of February, a similar incident occurred in the Alaska ADIZ, when NORAD tracked five Russian aircraft.

In January, Swedish rapid response forces detected and intercepted Russian military planes over the Baltic Sea.