U.S. fighter jets intercept Russian warplanes off Alaskan coast

U.S. fighter jets were scrambled Thursday to intercept multiple Russian bombers, fighter jets and a spy plane that were spotted flying off the coast of Alaska, U.S. authorities said.

Two Russian Tu-95s bombers, two Su-35s fighter planes and an A-50 spy plane were detected in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, the North American Aerospace Defense Command reported in a statement.

NORAD said it launched two F-16s, two F-35s and four KC-135s to escort the Russian aircraft until they had departed the Alaskan ADIZ.

The Russian aircraft did not enter U.S. or Canadian airspace, said NORAD, which described Russia’s activity in the Alaskan ADIZ as a regular occurrence that was not considered a threat.

The Alaskan ADIZ is a stretch of international airspace that begins where U.S. and Canadian sovereign airspace ends. According to NORAD, it is a “defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.”

In September 2025, the U.S. also scrambled fighter jets to intercept Russian Tu-95s and Su-35s in the Alaskan ADIZ. And last August, NORAD intercepted a Russian IL-20 COOT, a Cold War-era reconnaissance aircraft, four times in one week.

In September 2024, a 15-second video posted by NORAD showed a Russian fighter jet flying just feet away from a NORAD aircraft in the Alaskan ADIZ.

In July 2024, both Russian and Chinese bombers were intercepted by the U.S. after entering the Alaskan ADIZ. At the time, a U.S. defense official told CBS News this marked the first time that Russian and Chinese aircraft had ever jointly entered the Alaska ADIZ, and the first time Chinese H-6 bombers had encroached off Alaska.