Russian Military Aircraft Tracked Operating Near Alaskan Airspace

Incident represents second instance in less than a month.

Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 02:00 PM ET

Verified

Russian military aircraft were detected and tracked near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed Tuesday. [Courtesy: NORAD]

Key Takeaways:

Russian military aircraft were detected and tracked near Alaska in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), marking the second such incident in less than a month.
The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace, did not enter sovereign U.S. or Canadian airspace, and NORAD did not consider the activity a threat.
NORAD regularly monitors the Alaskan ADIZ and employs a layered defense network to detect, track, and respond to aircraft, ensuring readiness to defend North America.

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Russian military aircraft were detected and tracked near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed Tuesday.

NORAD said the February 18 incident—the second in the region in less than a month—occurred in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), which begins where sovereign airspace ends and is monitored by both the U.S. and Canada. NORAD officials did not identify the aircraft.