US Military Deploys Troops and Rocket Launchers to Alaska Island Amid Russian Activity

The US military has deployed about 130 soldiers and mobile rocket launchers to a remote island in the Aleutian chain of western Alaska in response to a recent increase in Russian military aircraft and vessels approaching American waters.

In the past week, 8 Russian military planes and 4 naval vessels, including 2 submarines, have approached Alaska as Russia and China conducted joint military exercises. However, none of the aircraft entered US airspace. A Pentagon spokesperson stated on Tuesday that there is no cause for alarm.

"It's not the first time that we've seen the Russians and the Chinese flying, you know, in the vicinity, and that's something that we obviously closely monitor, and it's also something that we're prepared to respond to," Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a news conference.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) reported that it detected and tracked Russian military planes operating off the coast of Alaska over a four-day period. On September 11, 13, 14, and 15, two planes were observed each day.

The planes operated in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, an area beyond US sovereign airspace where the US expects aircraft to identify themselves, according to NORAD.

Sullivan emphasized the need for a greater military presence in the Aleutians, urging the US to respond assertively to Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“In the past two years, we’ve seen joint Russian-Chinese air and naval exercises off our shores and a Chinese spy balloon floating over our communities,” Sullivan said in a statement Tuesday. “These escalating incidents demonstrate the critical role the Arctic plays in great power competition between the US, Russia, and China.”