Russia issues update after missile carriers flew near Alaska

Russia has said two of its missile carriers flew off the coast of Alaska in the latest incident of Moscow’s military aircraft operating near the United States.

Russia’s Defense Ministry posted on Telegram that two Tupolev Tu-95MS planes had carried out a flight “over the neutral waters of the Bering Sea near the Western coast of Alaska.” Next to the statement on Tuesday was a 60-second video of two aircraft taking off, interspersed with footage from the cockpit.

It was not immediately clear if the incident was linked to a statement by North American Aerospace Defense Command on Monday that four Russian military aircraft had passed through the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) where they remained in international airspace and no intercept was required. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) for comment.

The ADIZ covers the airspace surrounding the U.S. and Canada and is administered by both countries. Any aircraft flying in the zone without authorization may be treated as an enemy aircraft, potentially leading to fighter jet interception.

“This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat,” NORAD said Monday, without specifying the type of Russian aircraft in the fifth such incident this month.

There have been increasing tensions in the region and concerns over the military cooperation between Beijing and Moscow. On Monday, a Russian-Chinese flotilla entered the Sea of ​​Okhotsk in the Western Pacific in joint navy exercises.

Russia said last week that the “Beibu/Interaction – 2024” naval exercise would include anti-aircraft and antisubmarine weapons and that its large antisubmarine destroyers Admiral Panteleyev and Admiral Tributs were among the warships taking part in the drills.

The U.S. Navy has deployed cruiser USS Lake Erie and destroyer USS Sterett to the Northern Pacific Ocean and the Aleutian Islands. USS Lake Erie has conducted homeland defense operations in the Northern Pacific Ocean since September 18.

Earlier this month, U.S. Army soldiers were deployed to Alaska’s remote Shemya Island amid an increase in Russian and Chinese military exercises in the region.

Major General Joseph Hilbert, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, said on September 14 that, following joint Russian-Chinese bomber patrol drills, the deployment to the island shows the ability “to respond to events in the Indo-Pacific or across the globe, with a ready, lethal force within hours.”

Update 09/24/24, 12:20 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with further information.