US diverts four Russian warplanes flying near Alaska

The US diverted four Russian aircraft flying near Alaska Monday in what government officials called a “routine intercept.”

The North American Aerospace Defense Command said Tuesday that it “detected, tracked, positively identified” the four aircraft, which included TU-95 BEAR-H bombers and SU-35 fighter jets.

“NORAD had anticipated this Russian activity and, as a result of our planning, was prepared to intercept it,” the agency said in a statement.

Though the aircraft were operating within the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, they remained in international airspace.

The interference occurred just hours after two Dutch fighter jets intercepted a formation of three Russian military aircraft near Poland’s NATO airspace and escorted them out.