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6h ago

NORAD Tracks Fourth Russian Il-20 Near Alaska as Germany Scrambles Jets Over Baltic

NORAD characterizes the week’s detections as routine activity in international airspace.

NORAD has scrambled F-16s four times in the past week to respond to Russian aircraft.
German Typhoon Fighter Planes | Image: Republic

Overview

  • U.S. F-16s were scrambled on Aug. 27 to track a Russian Il-20 in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, the fourth such response since Aug. 20.
  • NORAD said the aircraft remained in international airspace and noted that activity in the ADIZ is regularly detected and not considered a threat.
  • The latest U.S. response included two F-16s, an E-3 Sentry, and a KC-135 tanker to monitor the reconnaissance flight.
  • In Europe, German Eurofighters launched from Rostock-Laage to identify an Il-20 over the Baltic after NATO ordered an intercept, with the plane flying without a transponder or filed flight plan.
  • NATO officials have described such no-transponder operations as risky, German media have framed the flights as intimidation and intelligence gathering, and Russia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.