Canadian, U.S. planes intercept Russian jets
ALASKAN COAST
Canadian CF-18 fighter jets and U.S. aircraft intercepted two Russian reconnaissance aircraft approaching the Alaskan coast on Monday, according to the North America Aerospace Defense Command.
Two Russian Tupolev Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft entered what is known as the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone — an area of international airspace that surrounds Canada's and the United States' sovereign airspace, where foreign military aircraft are identified and typically met with a visible response.
The North America Aerospace Defense Command, the joint Canada-U.S. mutual command known as NORAD, scrambled two Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornet fighters, with a home base in Cold Lake, Alta., and two United States Air Force F-22 Raptor fighters, supported by a KC-135 Stratotanker and E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, NORAD said.
The NORAD planes intercepted the Russian aircraft and the two pairs of jets escorted them — one on each side of each Tu-142 — for approximately four hours, until the planes left the identification zone towards Russia, NORAD said.
“We're always aware of those aircraft and we will take a decision to intercept these aircraft and escort them just to make sure our presence is known and the ability for us to defend Canada and the United States remains,” said Major Andrew Hennessy, a NORAD spokesman.
“Certainly, the Russians know that we're there,” he said of the proximity of the fighters to the Russian aircraft.
The closest the Russian jets got to the Alaskan coast was about 50 nautical miles; they did not enter Canadian or American air space.
Similar aviation probing and responses in the north were a high-stakes feature over decades during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West after the Second World War.
The aviation cat-andmouse ended with the close of the Cold War and the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, but Russia recommenced its long-range reconnaissance flights in 2007, amid increasing tension between it and the U.S.
This is the second time this year that NORAD planes intercepted Russian military aircraft. There were six incursions last year. The number has varied from a high of 15 to a low of zero since the Russians started such flights again in 2007.
“On every occasion, Russian aircraft are identified by NORAD; but circumstances vary and so do our responses,” said Hennessy.
Air defence identification zones are not formally recognized by international treaties but are used by many countries, including Canada. They provide a buffer, some breathing room, which allows countries to respond to approaching potential security threats, such as foreign military aircraft.