On June 10, the U.S Air Force F-22 fighter jets were able to intercept two sets of Russian bombers that were spotted off the coast of Alaska.
One of the Russian bombers were just 8 miles away from breaching the U.S territorial airspace that stretches around 12 miles from the east of the state.
Caught on time
The two sets of Russian bombers stayed in foreign airspace, however, the incident on June 10 showed that it was the nearest that a foreign bomber was intercepted in the recent memory to the territorial border of the United States.
According to a statement, the North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD F-22 Raptors, with the support given by E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System and the KC-135 Stratotankers were able to intercept two Russian Bomber formations that were trying to enter the Air Defense Identification Zone in Alasaka or ADIZ.
The statement read that the first formation has consisted of two Tu-95 bombers, two Su-35 fighter jets, and an A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft, which was 20 nautical miles near the shores in Alaska. It also stated that the second formation consisted of two Tu-95 bombers that were supported by an A-50 and it came within 32 nm.
The Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and it did not enter the sovereign space of the United States.
The ADIZ
The ADIZ records around 200 miles from the coastline of Alaska. The coastline is monitored and watched by national security.
The United States territorial airspace starts 12 miles from the coastline. In March and April 2020, Russian bombers have carried out a lot of flights across Alaska, but the surveillance of NORAD spotted the Russian bombers around 8 miles from the 12-mile mark and it is the nearest that a foreign aircraft has gotten in the history of US airspace.
It is very rare for NORAD to give press releases regarding the distances that Russian aircraft have gotten in the U.S territory. It also showed how noteworthy the intercepts were for how they happened so close to the airspace of the U.S.
The first group that had reached the US airspace eight miles south and the second party that had penetrated the US airspace 20 miles west. The video of the intercept was posted by Russia's Defense Ministry on its official Facebook page. It showed the U.S Air Force flying together with F-22.
According to NORAD, they have intercepted Russian aircraft multiple times as they have been spotted operating near Alaska, the group also said that they will continue to do air patrols near the coast in order to protect the approaches of foreign aircraft to the country.
NORAD offered the level of detail in order to illustrate the point that they will continue to work to protect the country and to execute defense missions with the highest capacity and capability, the group also emphasized that they are ready to fight in case something breaks out.
NORAD also said that catching the Russian bombers did not happen by luck, it happened because they took deliberate and difficult measures to make sure that they can conduct their missions successfully.
