Several Russian military aircraft, including fighter jets and strategic bombers, were intercepted by North American air defense forces while flying over international airspace near Alaska, the US military said.
The planes, which were identified on February 13, did not enter US or Canadian airspace and did not pose a threat, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a February 14 statement.
He added that the Russian flights had nothing to do with the mysterious spate of aerial objects shot down by the US military over North America in the past few weeks.
“NORAD anticipated this Russian activity and as a result of our planning was prepared to intercept it… Two NORAD F-16 fighter jets intercepted the Russian aircraft,” it said.
While NORAD said it sometimes escorts aircraft out of the area near Alaska if needed, it did not say whether that was the case this time.
Russia did not say whether its plane had been intercepted, but said on Wednesday that it had made several flights over international waters in recent days, including the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia.
It said two of its Tu-95MC strategic missile carriers flew over the Bering Sea, escorted by Su-30 jets.
“Long-haul aviation pilots regularly fly over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black Sea, Baltic Sea and Pacific Ocean,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
North American security forces have been on high alert in recent weeks after a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon flew into American airspace, prompting the United States to shoot it down and other objects as it combed the skies.
While Russia has conducted flights over the Bering Sea before, its neighbors in the region have grown increasingly concerned about Moscow’s military activity since last year’s invasion of Ukraine.
NATO member states have stepped up Arctic military exercises in recent years as Russia has expanded and renewed its military infrastructure in the region.