U.S.
NORAD sends fighter jets to escort 5 Russian aircraft out of Alaska air defense zone
Stars and Stripes
February 20, 2026
A NORAD F-16 Fighting Falcon, bottom, escorts a Russian Su-35 Flanker, middle, and Tu-95 Bear bomber through the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone over the Bering Sea on Sept. 24, 2025. (Department of Defense)
North American Aerospace Defense Command tracked five Russian aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone on Thursday.
NORAD tracked two Russian Tu-95s, two Su-35s and one A-50, according to a statement released Friday.
NORAD launched two F-16s, two F-35s, one E-3, and four KC-135s to intercept, positively identify and escort the aircraft until they departed the Alaskan ADIZ.
The Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace.
“This kind activity in the Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat,” said NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canadian command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.
It is the first reported incursion of Russian aircraft in the Alaska zone since Sept. 24. The September incident came after several incursions in August and July.
The air defense identification zone begins where sovereign airspace ends, usually 12 miles from the coast. The zone is a defined stretch of international airspace where all aircraft are expected to identify themselves in the interest of national security.
NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions. NORAD says it remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America.