Four Russian military planes were detected and tracked off the coast of Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said Monday, just days after the U.S. Army deployed more than 100 soldiers to the region.
The Russian aircraft were operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, which is beyond U.S. sovereign air space, but an area in which aircraft are expected to identify themselves, NORAD said in a news release. Officials did not release any details about the planes but said they stayed in international airspace.
The activity was "not seen as a threat," NORAD said. The aircraft were spotted just days after about 130 U.S. soldiers were temporarily deployed to a remote Alaska island with mobile rocket launchers amid a spike in Russian military activity off the western reaches of the U.S.
The deployment to Shemya Island involved soldiers from Alaska, Washington and Hawaii with the 11th Airborne Division and the 1st and 3rd Multi Domain Task Forces, Sgt. 1st Class Michael Sword, a spokesperson for the 11th Airborne, said in an email to The Associated Press.
The deployment coincided with eight Russian military planes and four navy vessels, including two submarines, traveling close to Alaska as Russia and China conducted joint military drills. None of the planes breached U.S. airspace.
Maj. Gen. Joseph Hilbert, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, has told media the deployment to the island, 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage, was done at the right time.
The deployment occurred Sept. 12. NORAD said it detected and tracked Russian military planes operating off Alaska over a four-day span. There were two planes each on Sept. 11, Sept. 13, Sept. 14 and Sept. 15.
The exercise was a measure of the military's readiness to deploy troops and equipment, Sword said.
"It's a great opportunity to test ourselves in real-world conditions, and another benefit to being stationed in a place like Alaska," Sword said.
The frequency of Russian airplanes entering the zone varies yearly. NORAD has said the average was six or seven a year, but it has increased recently. There were 26 instances last year and 25 so far this year.
The U.S. Coast Guard's 418-foot homeland security vessel Stratton was on routine patrol in the Chukchi Sea when it tracked four Russian Federation Navy vessels about 60 miles northwest of Point Hope, the agency said Sunday.
Besides the two submarines, the convoy included a frigate and a tugboat. The Coast Guard said the vessels crossed the maritime boundary into U.S. waters to avoid sea ice, which is permitted under international rules and customs.
In 2022, a U.S. Coast Guard ship came across three Chinese and four Russian naval vessels sailing in single formation about 85 miles north of Kiska Island in the Bering Sea.
In August 2023, the U.S. Navy sent four destroyers to the Alaskan coast after 11 Chinese and Russian warships were spotted patrolling in international waters within the Exclusive Economic Zone.
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