PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. –
Two F-22 and two CF-18 fighter aircraft supported by an E-3 Sentry, a KC-135 Stratotanker and a C-130 Tanker from the North American Aerospace Defense Command positively identified and intercepted two Tu-95 Bear H bombers in the Alaskan and Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones on August 8th, 2019.
The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace in the Beaufort Sea and at no time did the aircraft enter United States or Canadian sovereign airspace.
NORAD employs a layered defense network of radars, satellites, and fighter aircraft to identify aircraft and determine the appropriate response. The identification and monitoring of aircraft entering a U.S. or Canadian ADIZ demonstrates how NORAD executes its aerospace warning and aerospace control missions for the United States and Canada.
“NORAD’s top priority is defending Canada and the United States. NORAD operators identified and intercepted the Russian aircraft flying near our nations,” said General Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, the NORAD Commander. “Whether responding to violators of restricted airspace domestically or identifying and intercepting foreign military aircraft, NORAD is on alert 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”
Operation NOBLE EAGLE is the name given to all air sovereignty and air defense missions in North America. NORAD is a binational command focused on the defense of both the U.S. and Canada, the response to potential aerospace threats does not distinguish between the two nations, and draws on forces from both countries.
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