During the course of yesterday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) reported that U.S. Air Force F-16 fighters tracked and intercepted a Russian IL-20 SIGINT aircraft in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), preventing the aircraft from entering U.S. and/or Canadian airspace. This development comes just days before President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the territory to meet with his counterpart Donald Trump to discuss a possible end to the war in Ukraine, and at a time when U.S. Armed Forces are conducting the Northern Edge 2025 exercise in the region.
Providing further details, NORAD’s official statement noted that the Russian IL-20 aircraft remained at all times within international airspace, adding that such events occur frequently and are not usually considered a real threat. Nevertheless, a pair of F-16 fighters and a KC-135 tanker were deployed to track and monitor the activities of the aircraft while it remained in Alaska’s ADIZ.
It should be recalled that an ADIZ does not in itself constitute part of a country’s sovereign airspace, but rather refers to a defined area that begins precisely where such sovereign airspace ends and extends into international airspace, established as a zone in which rapid identification of incoming aircraft is required as part of established security protocols. In this particular case, the U.S. covers the zone with an extensive network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars, and of course, various types of combat aircraft ready to carry out interception maneuvers.
As a recent precedent, we can point to last July, when a patrol led by a Russian Aerospace Forces Tu-95MS bomber was detected in Alaska’s ADIZ, escorted during parts of its flight by Sukhoi Su-30SM and Su-35S fighters. In response, the U.S. Air Force dispatched F-16 and F-35A fighters to intercept them, highlighting at the time that the former belonged to the 18th FIS (Fighter Interceptor Squadron), the same unit that operates as part of the so-called “aggressor squadrons” participating in pilot training for air combat maneuvers.
Finally, returning to the Northern Edge 2025 exercises mentioned earlier, it should be noted that these are large-scale activities involving U.S. and Canadian forces. In concrete numbers, this includes the participation of more than 6,000 personnel, 100 combat aircraft, and even the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) along with its Arleigh Burke destroyer escort, composed of USS O’Kane (DDG 77), USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112), and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121). In addition, the presence of F-22 stealth fighters was observed in images released by official sources, as well as the Canadian frigate HCMS Regina (FFH 334) and an Airbus CC-150 Polaris.
Images used for illustrative purposes
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