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Russian Il-20 Buzzes Alaska Again: NORAD Scrambles Fighters for a Third Interception in a Week
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![Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk]( "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
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Fighters from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on August 24, marking the third such encounter in one week, ABC News reported on August 25.
NORAD deployed one E-3 Sentry command-and-control plane, two F-16 fighters, and two KC-135 Stratotankers to visually identify the Russian aircraft, which remained in international airspace and did not enter US or Canadian territory.
“These Russian flights in the Alaskan ADIZ occur regularly and are not seen as a threat,” NORAD said.
An ADIZ (air defense identification zone) “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,” it continued.
Earlier interceptions occurred on August 20 and August 21. NORAD emphasized that its layered defense network—satellites, radars, and fighter aircraft—remains ready to respond to any potential threat in defense of North America, ABC News stated.
Previously, it was reported that the two Italian Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jets scrambled from Ämari Air Base in Estonia under NATO’s Air Policing mission to intercept Russian aircraft operating near Alliance airspace.
According to Army Recognition, citing NATO Air Command, this marks the first deployment of Italian fifth-generation fighters in such a role over the Baltic.
