North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced on 24 July 2024 that it had that day intercepted Russian and Chinese aircraft operating together in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) for the first time.
NORAD fighter assets from the US Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force, supported by aerial refuelling aircraft from both countries and a USAF E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System platform, conducted the intercept, which involved two Russian Air Force Tu-95 and two People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) H-6 strategic bombers flying together in international airspace near the Alaska ADIZ. The aircraft did not enter US or Canadian sovereign airspace.
“This Russian and PRC [People’s Republic of China] activity in the Alaska ADIZ is not seen as a threat, and NORAD will continue to monitor competitor activity near North America and meet presence with presence,” NORAD stated in a press release.
Nevertheless, the fact that Russian and Chinese strategic bombers were operating in unision in the Alaska ADIZ for the first time is an interesting development, most likely intended to send a challenging message to the Western notion of the ‘international rules-based order’.
“An ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security,” NORAD explained.
NORAD is a bi-national command between the United States and Canada that employs a layered defence network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions.
