Once again, the United States has confirmed the deployment of aircraft from the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) in the Alaska ADIZ. This was reported by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on February 18 and 19, regarding what appeared to be the execution of a new long-range patrol flight, presumably carried out by Tu-95MS strategic bombers.
As has been reported in recent months, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have been conducting a series of long-range patrol flights within the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), highlighting the growing importance of the Arctic region.
The issue has been repeatedly pointed out by U.S. military officials, who indicate that the increased activity of Russian aerospace assets is a concern, further exacerbated by the growing cooperation between the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China.
According to NORAD reports, Russian military aircraft activity was detected and tracked within the Alaska ADIZ on both February 18 and 19. It was detailed that the flights were conducted in international airspace, with no violations of sovereign airspace recorded. However, NORAD did not specify whether U.S. and Canadian Air Force fighters were deployed to intercept the aircraft, as had occurred on previous occasions.
For its part, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has not issued an official statement or released images of the patrol conducted between February 18 and 19 at the time of this publication. While not explicitly mentioned, it is presumed that this operation was carried out by Tu-95MS strategic bombers of the Aerospace Forces, though the deployment of other platforms cannot be ruled out. This possibility is significant considering the recent flight of Tu-160 bombers in the Arctic at the end of January.
The activity of strategic-range aircraft from the Russian Federation in the Arctic has not gone unnoticed and is being monitored by the United States Armed Forces, which have even deployed F-16 fighters to air bases in Greenland in response to potential future deployments, such as the one conducted by the Tu-160s last month.
*Photographs used for illustrative purposes.
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