By James Myers, OAN Staff
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 11:23 AM
The U.S. military has moved about 130 soldiers and a mobile rocket launcher to an uninhabited island in the Aleutian Islands off western Alaska in response to a recent increase in Russian military aircraft and ships approaching U.S. territory.
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Eight Russian military planes and four naval vessels, including two submarines, flew near Alaska last week as Russia and China conducted joint military exercises. None of the aircraft violated U.S. airspace, and a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday there was no need for alarm.
“This is not the first time that we have observed Russian and Chinese aircraft flying in this vicinity, and it is certainly something that we are monitoring closely and prepared to respond,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a news conference.
Meanwhile, Russian state media reported that more than 15 warships were in the area conducting missile firing drills.
The latest activity comes after an incident in July when American F-16 and Canadian CF-18 fighter jets were sent to intercept two Chinese and two Russian bombers off the coast of Alaska.
Major General Joseph Hilbert, commander of the 11th RegimentNumber The airborne forces, based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) in Anchorage, said the U.S. military response ensured the Army's capabilities.
“[It] “This is critical to our defense and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Hilbert said. “The ability to rapidly and effectively deploy combat-capable forces, no matter how remote, is critical to supporting our nation and strong relationships with our allies and partners.”
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) claims that the number of such incursions varies from year to year, with a normal average of six to seven interceptions per year. In 2023, 26 Russian aircraft are expected to invade the Alaska region, with 25 so far this year.
The U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday that the 418-foot Russian security vessel Stratton was on a routine patrol in the Chukchi Sea when it pursued four Russian Navy vessels about 60 miles northwest of Point Hope, Alaska.
But Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the recent spike was “something we continue to monitor closely, but it does not pose a threat from our perspective.”
“Over the past two years, we have seen Russia and China conduct joint air and naval exercises off our coasts and witnessed Chinese spy balloons hovering above our communities,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said in a statement on Tuesday. “These escalating incidents demonstrate the critical role the Arctic plays in great power competition between the United States, Russia and China.”
Sullivan also said the Navy should reopen its shuttered Naval Air Station Adak in the Aleutian Islands, which closed in 1997.
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