Russian planes escorted out of air space near Alaska

Feb. 20 (UPI) — Five Russian planes flew into the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone and were escorted out by U.S. planes on Thursday.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command detected the two Tu-95s, two Su-35s, and one A-50 and tracked them in the ADIZ, a NORAD press release said.

NORAD launched two F-16s, two F-35s, one E-3, and four KC-135s to intercept, identify and escort the planes until they left the Alaskan ADIZ.

The Russian military aircraft stayed in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian airspace. This activity in the Alaskan ADIZ happens regularly and isn’t seen as a threat, NORAD said.

An ADIZ is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.

NORAD uses a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter planes to detect and track aircraft, the release said.

A similar event happened in September near Alaska, as it did in August two days in a row. The August event drew attention because it happened soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Alaska to meet with President Donald Trump.