() For the third time in a week, American fighter jets were scrambled to respond to a Russian aircraft near Alaska on Sunday.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) reported tracking an IL-20 Coot, a Russian surveillance aircraft, encroaching upon the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone.
Despite the aircraft’s presence in this zone, it did not breach U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace, according to NORAD. The identification zone exists over international waters, where NORAD is tasked with monitoring and identifying all aircraft within its bounds.
NORAD dispatched two F-16 fighter jets, two KC-135 tankers and an E-3 Sentry aircraft to monitor the Russian aircraft.
Spy plane activity ‘not seen as a threat’
According to NORAD, the Russian activity near Alaska was “not seen as a threat.”
Although the entry of Russian aircraft into the zone often prompts NORAD to respond, the recent sighting marked the third such occurrence within a week.
Similar Russian surveillance aircraft were tracked last Wednesday and Thursday as well, prompting NORAD to dispatch military jets to observe them in both instances.
