Russian warplanes intercepted near Alaska for ninth time this year, NORAD says

WASHINGTON — U.S. fighter jets scrambled to identify and intercept four Russian warplanes flying near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said Thursday. NORAD reported two Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighters operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. In response, nine U.S. aircraft — an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system plane, four F-16 fighters and four KC-135 tankers — were scrambled to positively identify and intercept the Russian jets. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace, NORAD said. The incident marks the ninth such occurrence this year near Alaska, and the third in about a month.

NORAD described the activity as regular and not a threat to North American airspace, noting that such interceptions near Alaska have occurred previously this year. The command emphasized that the jets involved in the encounter remained within international airspace and did not pose a direct safety risk to the United States or Canada.

The latest encounter comes amid a broader political backdrop in Washington and Europe. A day before the intercept, President Donald Trump said Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from his previous calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war. NATO also warned Russia on Tuesday that it would use all means to defend against any further breaches of its airspace after a recent spate of air incursions, including downed drones over Poland and reports of Russian jets entering Estonia’s airspace.

Trump also said NATO members should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace, though he added that U.S. backing would depend on the circumstances when pressed on the matter. The remarks came after a summit last month in which Trump said he was arranging direct talks between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Moscow has shown little interest in such talks and has intensified its bombardment of Ukraine in recent weeks.

U.S. officials have repeatedly described such intercepts as routine, citing the Arctic region’s vast airspace and the Alaskan ADIZ as areas where air-traffic identification and monitoring occur regularly. The incidents are monitored closely by NORAD as part of ongoing efforts to deter any potential escalation in the air above international airspace near Alaska, with no indication of immediate threats to national security.