North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said Wednesday that it “detected and tracked” a Russian military aircraft operating in Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on May 15.
An ADIZ is an area that extends far beyond territorial waters and airspace where the US wants foreign aircraft to identify themselves. Alaska’s ADIZ is a massive area that extends near Russia’s coast, where Russian aircraft routinely operate.
NORAD said the Russian flight occurred as “several planned large-scale military training exercises are ongoing in and around Alaska” but did not specify where the US drills were taking place.
“The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” NORAD said. “This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.”
Earlier this week, NORAD said it intercepted two Russian planes in Alaska’s ADIZ during US military drills. The press release on the incident described the intercept as “routine” and also said Russian activity in the area “occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.”
Despite the routine nature of these encounters, the Russian aircraft activity grabbed Western headlines, likely due to the current tensions between the US and Russia over Ukraine.
Russians, since the Soviet Union days have been doing this. We have been doing the same. Sometimes the aircraft pass each other. Once, there was the Open Skies agreement. We withdrew. So it goes.
Russia however is not a signatory to the Treaty on Open Skies – so even had the US remained in the treaty.
Almost can’t believe you said that.
Alaska seems a likely point of first contact after the US attacks China and Mexico. New Chinese destroyers have also operated in the area. They are reported to be the most powerful military ships on earth.
Something that is “routine” is news?
Whatever….
US states (like Alaska) don’t have an ADIZ. The US has ADIZs. If individual states had ADIZs how far would Rhode Island’s ADIZ extend out to?
Well, most US states don’t have their own ADIZs. But Alaska does (DC also has a separate ADIZ covering several states). All of which are sub-units not of a US ADIZ, but of a “North American” ADIZ encompassing the US and Canada.
Of course, a number of countries don’t recognize each other’s ADIZs, for various reasons. For example, the People’s Republic of China doesn’t recognize Taiwan’s ADIZ both because it doesn’t recognize Taiwan at all and because Taiwan’s declared ADIZ stretches onto the PRC’s mainland territory.
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Grabbed headlines?