This photo provided by the U.S. Department of Defense shows a North American Aerospace Defense Command F-16 fighter aircraft intercepting a Russian Su-35 military aircraft near the Bering Strait, west of Alaska, on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026.
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked two Tu-95s, two Su-35s, and one A-50 operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Feb.19, 2026.
NORAD launched two F-16s, two F-35s, one E-3, and four KC-135s to intercept, positively identify, and escort the aircraft until they departed the Alaskan ADIZ.
The Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian activity in the Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.
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 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.
