February 14, 2023Updated: February 14, 2023
U.S. fighter jets
intercepted four Russian military aircraft that entered Alaska’s air defense
identification zone (ADIZ) on Feb. 13.
The North American
Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which oversees North
American airspace and its defense, responded to the incursion with two F-16
fighters and five other supporting aircraft including two F-35s, according to
a press
statement.
The NORAD forces
successfully intercepted a group of Russian bombers and fighters that entered
Alaska’s ADIZ.
Alaska’s ADIZ is not part
of U.S. airspace, but the zone immediately surrounding it in which NORAD tracks
and identifies foreign aircraft.
The NORAD statement said
that the incursion was “in no way related” to several high-profile efforts by
NORAD to shoot down unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) over the last two
weeks.
Further, it said, the
action was more routine than escalatory, as Russian forces attempt to penetrate
the country’s ADIZ several times a year in an effort to test U.S. responses.
“Since Russia resumed out of area
Long Range Aviation activity in 2007, NORAD has seen a yearly average of
approximately six to seven intercepts of Russian military aircraft in the
ADIZ,” the statement said.
“These numbers have
varied each year from as high as 15 to as low as zero.”
The incident follows on
the heels of a separate interception of Russian military
aircraft by Dutch fighters.
That incident also
occurred on Tuesday and resulted from an apparent effort by Russian fighters to
approach Polish airspace following an announcement that U.S. President Joe
Biden will visit Poland to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale
invasion of Ukraine.
Biden will travel to
Poland from Feb. 20 to Feb. 22 and meet with President Andrzej Duda, where the
two will discuss bilateral cooperation and the NATO effort to bolster Ukraine’s
defenses against the Russian onslaught.
“Wouldn’t it be great if
the president didn’t have to make a trip around a one-year anniversary of a war
that never should have started? Sadly, that’s where we are,” said National Security
Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby during a Feb. 10
press conference.
“He wants to make sure
that he’s sending that strong message not only of the United States’ resolve,
but the international community’s resolve, and to make clear to the Ukrainian
people that the United States is going to continue to stand by them going
forward.”
No comments:
Post a Comment