An F-22 Raptor U.S. warplane deploys flares over Kadena Air Base in Japan. (Photo: Air Force/Reuters)
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – Two F-22 fighter warplanes intercepted six Russian military airplanes that neared the western coast of Alaska, military officials said Friday. The incident was the latest in a string of incursions from the Russian military conducted test-runs in wake of President Obama’s floundering on the world stage.
Lt. Col. Michael Jazdyk, a spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, otherwise known as NORAD, said the U.S. jets intercepted the planes roughly 55 nautical miles off of the Alaskan coast at approximately 7 PM PST Wednesday.
U.S. officials say the Russian squadron was identified as consisting of two IL-78 refueling tankers, two Mig-31 fighter jets and two Bear long-range bombers. The squadron made its way south before returning to their base in Russia after U.S. jets received the order to be scrambled.
Meanwhile, at approximately 1:30 AM PST Thursday, two Canadian CF-18 fighter jets also intercepted two of the long-range bombers roughly 40 nautical miles off of Canada’s coastline over the Beaufort Sea. In the two instances, the Russian warplanes entered the Air Defense Identification Zone, which begins roughly 200 miles off of the coastline. However, the planes did not enter sovereign airspace of the United States or Canada.
Lt. Col. Jazdyk said the order to scramble U.S. fighter jets was “basically to let those aircraft know that we see them, and in case of a threat, to let them know we are there to protect our sovereign airspace.”
In the past five years, jets under NORAD’s command have intercepted more than 50 Russian bombers approaching North American airspace. In early September, during the NATO summit, Russian bombers conducted a test-run in the North Atlantic to determine an optimum point for firing nuclear-armed cruise missiles at U.S. targets. Defense officials said that two Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers were tracked near Iceland, Greenland, and Canada’s northeast territories.
Russia hasn’t been the only provocation power challenging U.S. supremacy in the skies. In late August, a Chinese fighter jet made “several passes” by a U.S. Navy aircraft off the coast of China in international airspace. The Chinese Su-27 interceptor conducted a “barrel roll” maneuver over the Navy P-8 Poseidon at a proximity the Pentagon characterized as “very close,” aggressively baring its weapons.
But, according to NORAD, a binational American and Canadian command responsible for air defense in North America, Russia is thus far the only other great power conducted open bombing runs in what appears to be a test of NORAD’s defenses.
