US, Canada scramble fighter jets to intercept Russian military planes off Alaska
The US and Canada scrambled fighter jets to identify and intercept four Russian military planes off Alaska last night.
Two Russian Tu-95s and two Su-35s were detected in the Alaskan Air Defence Identification Zone, an area which is not part of US or Canadian sovereign airspace but which is kept under tabs for national security purposes, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said.
Washington has not commented on Thursday evening’s incident.
The incident follows several Russian incursions into Nato airspace in the past two weeks. Last Friday, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes before Nato Italian fighter jets escorted them out.
Nato chief Mark Rutte echoed calls by Trump to shoot down Russian fighter jets if they enter Nato airspace again.
“I totally agree here with President Trump, if so necessary,” he said. “Our military have trained and prepared for this. We know how to do this.”
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