NORAD Scrambles Jets in Ninth ADIZ Incident

On Sept. 24, NORAD scrambled U.S. and Canadian aircraft to identify and intercept four Russian military planes — two Tu-95 strategic bombers and two Su-35 fighters — detected operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. NORAD deployed an E-3 Sentry, four F-16s and four KC-135 tankers to track the aircraft, which remained in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace. The encounter was the ninth such ADIZ incident this year and the third in about a month, reflecting a recurring pattern of Russian sorties near Alaska. The intercept takes place amid heightened NATO–Russia tensions after recent alleged airspace breaches and drone incursions over Poland, Estonia and Denmark.