NORAD again tracks Russian military aircraft near Alaska coast

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked several Russian aircraft in the Alaska area over the last week.

Two aircraft were detected Sunday and two on Saturday, according to NORAD. The planes were Russian IL-38 military aircraft and were operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone.

NORAD said the aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian airspace.

Similarly, NORAD said last Wednesday that two Russian military aircraft were detected. A day later, two Russian TU-142 military aircraft were detected .

While the activity may be an uptick from normal operations, NORAD said this activity happens “regularly” and is not seen as a threat.

NORAD said the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone is a stretch of international airspace that begins where sovereign airspace ends and it “requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.”

The organization said it has a network of satellites, radars and fighter aircraft that detect and track international aircraft activity. NORAD said it “remains ready” to employ responses to defend North America if something were to happen.

Fighter jets intercepted Chinese and Russian bombers off the coast of Alaska in July. The bombers did not enter the sovereign airspace of the U.S. or Canada.

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