Russian fighter jets near Alaska: NORAD intercepts 4 planes

The U.S. and Canadian joint defense group, called NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), launched fighter jets on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, to watch and identify four Russian military planes that were flying close to Alaska.

Two Tu-95 long-range strategic bombers and two Su-35 advanced fighter jets flew into the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). NORAD sent several aircraft, including F-16 fighter jets and surveillance planes, to meet the Russian planes.

ADIZ is a security buffer of international airspace next to the U.S. and Canadian sovereign airspace. All planes in this zone are expected to identify themselves.

The Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) is “a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) stated that “The Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace.”

NORAD stated that this kind of Russian activity near Alaska “occurs regularly” and is “not seen as a threat.” It is common for Russia to fly military planes in the ADIZ, possibly to test the readiness of the U.S. and its allies.

This was the ninth such incident reported this year.

It comes amid high tensions and similar reports of Russian aircraft or drones violating the national airspace of NATO countries like Poland and Estonia in Europe.