Anchorage, Alaska – Russian warplanes staged at least seven exercises outside U.S. airspace near Alaska this summer, and each time, U.S. or Canadian fighter jets were dispatched to escort them, U.S. military officials said Monday.
The latest exercise came Sept. 19 and involved two planes flying somewhere off the coast of Canada, said Maj. Allen Herritage, a spokesman for the Alaska region of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
They were met by Canadian planes from NORAD, which is jointly operated by the U.S. and Canadian militaries.
At least five exercises by the Russian Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers have taken place off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and other historic Cold War outposts according to NORAD records.
All occurred beyond the 12-mile boundary that constitutes U.S. airspace and have involved two to six aircraft. Each time, Russia alerted the U.S. through reports in Russian news agencies, Herritage said.
“They used to have them from time to time, but not nearly in this frequency,” Herritage said. “These exercises used to be more common during the Cold War.”
The exercises are seen by some as intimidating moves by an increasingly assertive Russia, but Herritage said that the exercises are not a cause for alarm.
“The recent exercises appear to be routine training activities,” he said. “They are nowhere near U.S. airspace.”
