On Jun. 10, 2020, U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors, supported by KC-135 Stratotanker and E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, under NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) control completed two intercepts of Russian formations entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone.
According to NORAD, “The first formation consisted of two Tu-95 bombers, accompanied by two Su-35 fighter jets and an A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft, which came within 20 nautical miles of Alaskan shores.
The second formation consisted of two Tu-95 bombers supported by an A-50 and came within 32 nm. The Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and at no time did they enter United States sovereign airspace.”
A video of the intercept filmed from inside a Tu-95 was released by Russian Government sponsored Zvezda:
“Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, NORAD’s remains ready and poised to defend the homelands 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year,” said General Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, NORAD Commander.
“On several occasions, we have intercepted multiple Russian aircraft operating near Alaska and we will continue to do air patrols to protect the approaches to our nations. I offer that level of detail to illustrate the point we will continue to execute our homeland defense missions with the same capability and capacity we always bring to the fight. That does not happen by luck. It happens because we taking deliberate – and at times, difficult – measures to ensure we are able to conduct our no-fail missions.”
In recent days, U.S. Air Force bombers also flew near Russian borders. B-1B Lancer bombers from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, conducted a long-range strategic Bomber Task Force mission throughout Europe and the Black Sea region on 29 May.
