Lyce · Hybrid Watch
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Fighter jets scrambled to intercept Russian planes off Alaska.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced that on 24 September 2025 four Russian military aircraft — two Tupolev Tu‑95 long-range bombers and two Sukhoi Su‑35 fighters — were detected and tracked operating within the Alaska ADIZ. U.S. and Canadian assets responded: NORAD deployed an E-3 surveillance aircraft, four F-16 fighters and four KC-135 tanker aircraft to “positively identify and intercept” the Russian formation. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter either U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace, according to NORAD. Although the incident caused no direct confrontation or airspace violation in the territorial sense, it underscores an ongoing pattern of Russian strategic aviation probing North American northern approaches. From a hybrid-threat perspective, this constitutes a non-kinetic demonstration of presence and psychological pressure rather than outright aggression, signaling capability, readiness and intent. The relevance lies in the shared NORAD mandate and the vulnerability of Arctic air-defence and monitoring systems to such long-range aerial activity.
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The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced that on 24 September 2025 four Russian military aircraft — two Tupolev Tu‑95 long-range bombers and two Sukhoi Su‑35 fighters — were detected and tracked operating within the Alaska ADIZ. U.S. and Canadian assets responded: NORAD deployed an E-3 surveillance aircraft, four F-16 fighters and four KC-135 tanker aircraft to “positively identify and intercept” the Russian formation. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter either U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace, according to NORAD. Although the incident caused no direct confrontation or airspace violation in the territorial sense, it underscores an ongoing pattern of Russian strategic aviation probing North American northern approaches. From a hybrid-threat perspective, this constitutes a non-kinetic demonstration of presence and psychological pressure rather than outright aggression, signaling capability, readiness and intent. The relevance lies in the shared NORAD mandate and the vulnerability of Arctic air-defence and monitoring systems to such long-range aerial activity.