For the second time this week, Russian military planes have been intercepted by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-16 fighters.
The warplanes intercepted the Russian aircraft near Alaska for the second time this week, according to media reports.
The incident happened on February 14, according to a news release on NORAD’s Twitter account.
The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not cross into American or Canadian airspace, according to the news release.
“This is the second intercept of Russian aircraft over two days. This Russian activity near the North America ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat, nor is the activity seen as provocative,” the release read.
“As before, NORAD has anticipated this Russian activity and, as a result of our planning, was prepared to intercept it.”
The Russian aircraft included the TU-95 BEAR-H, SU-35, and SU-30.
Since 2007, NORAD has seen an average of six to seven intercepts per year of Russian military aircraft.
The number of NORAD intercepts of Russian military aircraft has been as high as 15 and as low as zero, according to the release.
Tension between Russia and America has been on the rise due to aggressive Russian activity and conflict taking place in Ukraine.
