NORAD intercepts bombers from China, Russia off Alaskan coast

NORAD intercepts bombers from China, Russia off Alaskan coast Washington, July 25 (IANS) The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has said that it sent out fighter jets to intercept two Chinese and Russian bombers off the coast of Alaska from China and Russia. NORAD said that it detected and tracked two Russian TU-95 and two Chinese H-6 military aircraft that were operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Wednesday, The Hill reported. NORAD added that its fighter jets from Canada and the US intercepted the four aircraft. The Command said that the bombers did not enter the sovereign airspace of the US or Canada and that they remained in international airspace. It also added that the activity in the zone was not seen as a threat, The Hill reported. The Command said that it "will continue to monitor competitor activity near North America and meet presence with presence". NORAD noted that an Air Defense Identification Zone "begins where sovereign airspace ends". The zone is an area of international airspace "that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security," according to the Command. NORAD said in May that it was tracking four Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaska ADIZ, saying at the time that the activity "occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat". --IANS int/khz