A defence official told Air & Space Forces Magazine it was the first time H-6 bombers had entered the Alaska ADIZ.

They said the intercept was carried out by US F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, Canadian CF-18 fighter jets, and support aircraft.

While Russia’s military has long been active in the north Pacific, China has emerged as a new actor in recent years as it expands its navy and air force.

In May, Norad said it was tracking four Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaska ADIZ. It said at the time Russian activity in the area “occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat”.

The Chinese military aircraft intercepted this week are the first detected in the area.

The Russian defence ministry said the joint patrol also flew over the Chukchi Sea, which is on the north side of the Bering Strait.

Russian fighter jets and strategic bombers were joined by Chinese strategic bombers in the exercises, which lasted more than five hours, the ministry said.

Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for China’s defence ministry, said it was the eighth joint strategic air patrol since 2019 to test and improve coordination between the two air forces.

NORAD says aircraft did not enter sovereign airspace and were not considered a threat.

The United States and Canada intercepted two Chinese bombers and two Russian bombers operating in international airspace near the state of Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has said.

US and Canadian warplanes “detected, tracked, and intercepted” two Russian TU-95 and two PRC H-6 military aircraft within Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Wednesday, NORAD said.

The aircraft did not enter US or Canadian sovereign airspace and were not considered a threat, NORAD said.

“NORAD will continue to monitor competitor activity near North America and meet presence with presence,” the binational command said in a statement.

Intercepting an aircraft is military speak for contacting a foreign aircraft by electronic or visual means.

Countries including the US, China, India and Japan have unilaterally declared ADIZs that require foreign military aircraft to identify themselves upon entering a specific zone of airspace.

Unlike sovereign airspace, ADIZs are not recognised in international law or overseen by any international body.

Russian military activity is not uncommon off Alaska’s coast.

In February, NORAD said it had detected four Russian warplanes operating in the Alaska ADIZ.

On Sunday, Moscow said it had scrambled fighters to intercept two US bombers that approached the Russian border over the Barents Sea in the Arctic.

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American and Canadian warplanes intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers in international airspace near the state of Alaska on Wednesday, the joint US-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said.

“NORAD detected, tracked, and intercepted two Russian TU-95 and two PRC H-6 military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone,” it said.