PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) monitored multiple Russian military aircraft activity in the Arctic earlier this week.
The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter Alaskan or Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones or sovereign airspace. This activity is not seen as a threat.
Under its mission of maintaining comprehensive domain awareness in the Arctic, NORAD launched a combat air patrol from its Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) to the northern region of Canada, and an air patrol from its Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR) off the coast of the Alaska/Yukon border, to further track the activity.
The CANR patrol consisted of two Canadian CF-18s, and one KC-135 refueling aircraft (Tanker), and the ANR patrol consisted of two U.S. F-35s, one E-3 (AWACS) and two KC-135 refueling aircraft (Tankers).
Within several hours following these launches, NORAD also sent two F-16s from Alaska toward Greenland exercising its standard agreement with the Kingdom of Denmark to forward posture NORAD presence in the Arctic. This activity is not in response to any current threat.
NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars, and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions. NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America.
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NOTE TO EDITORS: For further information, please contact NORAD Public Affairs at (719) 554-6889 or at n-ncpa.omb@mail.mil.
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