The U.S. military spotted and tracked four Russian military aircraft off the coast of Alaska on Monday amid a surge in activity from Moscow off the U.S. coast.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement late Monday that the four Russian planes were flying within the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
The ADIZ is just outside of U.S. sovereign airspace, but it is a part of international airspace where national security interests require all aircraft to easily identify themselves.
“The Russian aircraft remained within international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian airspace,” the statement said. “Russian activity in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone is routine and is not considered a threat.”
Officials gave no further details about what type of military aircraft it was.
The activity came days after the U.S. military deployed about 130 soldiers equipped with mobile rocket launchers to a remote area of Alaska's Aleutian Islands.
As part of the deployment, soldiers from the 11th Airborne Division and the 1st and 3rd Multidisciplinary Task Forces from Alaska, Washington and Hawaii were deployed to Shemya Island, according to the Associated Press.
The forces were deployed to the area on September 12 as Russia and China conducted joint air and sea military exercises in western Alaska, with eight Russian military aircraft and four naval vessels, including two submarines, sailing near the state.
The Coast Guard said the Russian navy vessels crossed the maritime boundary into U.S. waters to avoid sea ice – an action permitted by international rules and customs – but the Pentagon said none of the Russian planes crossed U.S. airspace.
So far this year, there have been 25 incidents of Russian aircraft entering the ADIZ, up from 26 last year.
This isn't the first time Washington has sent troops and equipment to repel Russian and Chinese forces operating near Alaska: In August 2023, the Navy sent four destroyers to the coast of the state after spotting 11 Chinese and Russian warships patrolling in the exclusive economic zone, considered international waters.
