The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Monday, according to a statement from the agency.
The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian activity in Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat. NORAD reported similar activity in December, January and twice in February.
An ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.
NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions. NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America.