F-16s intercept Russian bomber, fighter aircraft near Alaska
By COREY DICKSTEIN
STARS AND STRIPES • February 14, 2023
F-16 fighter jets intercepted Russian bomber and fighter aircraft in international airspace off Alaska’s coast Monday in an incident defense officials said was unrelated to a series of objects shot down over North America in recent days.
North American Aerospace Defense Command scrambled two F-16s to intercept the four Russian aircraft — two TU-95 BEAR-H bombers and two SU-35 fighters — after they entered the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ, according to a NORAD statement issued Tuesday. Officials described the intercept as routine and professional.
“This Russian activity in the North American ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat, nor is the activity seen as provocative,” according to the statement from NORAD, the joint U.S.-Canadian military organization charged with protecting airspace over the two nations. “NORAD had anticipated this Russian activity and, as a result of our planning, was prepared to intercept it.”
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2023-02-14/f16s-russian-aircraft-intercept-alaska-9139560.html
