Two Russian military aircraft were “detected and tracked” on Friday in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, marking the second detection of the week, the US military said.
“The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter US or Canadian sovereign airspace,” the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, said in a press release. “This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not viewed as a threat.”
The two Russian TU-142 aircraft, often used for maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare, were discovered on Friday, followed by two others which had been discovered on Wednesday, NORAD said.
U.S. and Canadian fighter jets in July intercepted four Russian and Chinese bombers flying in international airspace near Alaska, officials said at the time.
ADIZ international airspace extends 150 miles from the US coast. US territorial airspace and waters begin 12 miles from the coast.
NORAD did not identify the type of Russian aircraft involved in Wednesday’s discovery.