A team of F-22s, supported by KC-135 tankers, intercepted three sets of two Russian Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone late Aug. 27, North American Aerospace Defense Command announced, Airforce Magazine reports.
According to Airforce Magazine, the Russian aircraft loitered in the area for about five hours, coming within 50 nautical miles of Alaskan shores, though they remained in international air space the entire time, NORAD said in a release. The intercepts come one day after NORAD monitored a Russian submarine that surfaced in international waters near Alaska.
