US F-16 Fighter Jet Intercepts Sukhoi Su-30 and Russian Tu-95SM Strategic Bomber Near Alaska

JAKARTA - Several Russian strategic bombers and fighter jets were intercepted by north American air defense forces as they flew over international airspace near Alaska, the North American Space Defense Command (NORAD) said, in a routine incident unrelated to tensions over the war in Ukraine.

The aircraft, which was identified on Monday, did not enter US or Canadian airspace and did not pose a threat, the joint US-Canadian center said in a statement dated February 14.

He added that the Russian flights were in no way connected with a series of mysterious objects shot down by the US military over North America in recent weeks, the details of which are still unknown.

"NORAD had anticipated this Russian activity. Two NORAD F-16 fighters intercepted the Russian aircraft," he said, citing Reuters, February 16.

The United States also frequently conducts surveillance operations that do not enter other countries' airspace and such flights are a common part of military operations.

"NORAD routinely monitors the movements of foreign aircraft and if necessary, escorts them," the statement added.

Separately, Russia said on Wednesday it had made several flights over international waters in recent days, including in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia.

It said two of the Tu-95MS strategic missile carrier bombers had flown over the Bering Sea accompanied by Su-30 jets, having made similar "routine" flights over northern Norway and over international waters near Russia's far east.

It did not say whether the plane had been intercepted.

"Long-range pilots regularly make flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black, Baltic, and Pacific Oceans," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

North American security forces have been on high alert since a Chinese reconnaissance balloon allegedly crossed into US airspace, prompting the United States to shoot it and other objects down as it searched the sky.

While Russia has conducted flights over the Bering Sea before, its neighbors in the region have become more concerned about Moscow's military activity since its invasion of Ukraine last year.

Earlier, two Dutch F-35 warplanes intercepted a formation of three Russian military aircraft near Poland and escorted them out, the Dutch Ministry of Defense said in a statement late Monday.

It is known that NATO member countries have also stepped up military exercises in the Arctic in recent years, as Russia has expanded and updated its military infrastructure in the region.