As of: February 11, 2024, 5:08 a.m
By: Ulrike Hagen
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Press
Split
Russian fighter jets invade the airspace over Alaska twice in three days.
However, air defense does not classify the incidents as a threat.
Colorado Springs – Two Russian aircraft have entered an air defense zone outside Alaska airspace.
It was the second time this week that such an incident has occurred, the North American Aerospace Defense Command NORAD announced on Friday (February 9).
A SU-35 fighter jet of the Russian Air Force takes off.
(Archive photo) © SNA / Sputnik / Imago Images
Two Russian military aircraft spotted in Alaska airspace
The military jets were located in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Thursday, but remained in international airspace and did not enter sovereign American or Canadian airspace, NORAD said.
Four Russian aircraft had already entered the ADIZ on Tuesday, prompting NORAD, a joint US-Canada air surveillance and air defense facility, to issue a similar statement.
“Regular Russian air activity” around Alaska: Air defense sees no threat
An ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends and is defined as a section of international airspace where the identification of aircraft is required in the interest of national security.
“These Russian activities in the Alaska ADIZ occur regularly and are not considered a threat,” NORAD said Friday.
The statement comes after Moscow hinted at claiming sovereignty over Alaska and a Putin confidant's demand for the return of Alaska, which the US rejected.
The United States purchased Alaska from the then Russian Empire in 1867 and declared it its 49th state in 1959.
Alaska and Russia are separated by the Bering Strait and are only about 85 kilometers apart.
Institute for the Study of War: “Parameters of what constitutes Russian property unclear”
It is unclear why the Russian military aircraft could have flown in Alaska's ADIZ, reports the news portal
Newsweek.
A request to the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment remained unanswered.
Meanwhile, the Washington, DC-based think tank Institute for the Study of War mentioned in its January “Assessment of the Russian Offensive Campaign” that Putin had issued a decree to provide funds for the search, registration and “protection” of Russian “property.” issued abroad.
This is also about property on former territory of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union.
The Foreign Ministry should also take part.
However, it was unclear how “property” would be defined in this case.
The experts also said Russia could use the "protection" of such "property" to put pressure on post-Soviet countries and other neighboring regions - such as Alaska.
According to the ISW, military bloggers then called for implementation of the decree to begin there, in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.
However, a connection with the fighter jet flights in the airspace over Alaska could not be confirmed.
Russian planes repeatedly appear over Alaska: USA sent interceptors
Russian military aircraft were discovered over Alaska as early as February 2023.
Also in May and July, the United States was forced to send fighter jets to intercept a Russian military aircraft after it entered the Alaska ADIZ during a large-scale American military exercise in the region.
On May 11, the US intercepted six Russian military jets, also during an American exercise.
Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Patrick S. Ryder said at the time: “This is not the first Russian flight.
It probably won’t be the last either.”