COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – NORAD detected, tracked, and intercepted two Russian TU-95 and two People's Republic of China H-6 military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Wednesday, according to a statement from the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
NORAD fighter jets from the United States and Canada conducted the intercept.
The Russian and Chinese aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace.
In February, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked four Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone three times over four days.
The presence of Chinese aircraft is a new development.
An ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.
"NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America."