The United States military scrambled fighter jets again Tuesday to track another Russian spy plane flying near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said.
It was the latest in a series of similar incidents within the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, which is a section of international airspace just outside of U.S. and Canadian sovereign space that both countries monitor for national security reasons. The zone begins where U.S. territory ends off the coast of Alaska, and aircrafts from other countries are required to identify themselves to the U.S. and Canada when they enter.
Russian military activity in the identification zone is common and not considered a threat, said NORAD. On Tuesday, the command said it detected and surveilled one IL-20 COOT, a Russian reconnaissance aircraft, inside the Alaskan identification zone after intercepting the same type of spy plane flying over the region last Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.
NORAD scrambled multiple fighter jets to monitor the spy plane in each of those incidents, including the latest one on Tuesday, according to the command. None of the situations resulted in the Russian plane entering U.S. or Canadian sovereign space.
U.S. officials have spotted Russian military aircraft inside the Alaskan identification zone multiple times just this year. In January, the U.S. and Canada scrambled fighter jets to track Russian warplanes over the Arctic, drawing public scrutiny as geopolitical tension increased in the region.
Earlier, in September 2024, NORAD posted dramatic video of a Russian jet flying “within just a few feet” of NORAD aircraft off the coast of Alaska. At the time, a U.S. general said “the conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all.”
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
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