Russian Aircraft Enters US Air Defense Identification Zone

Russian surveillance aircraft have entered Alaska’s air defense identification zone twice this week, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

“On two separate occasions, over the past 2 days, the Alaskan NORAD Region detected, tracked and identified Russian surveillance aircraft entering and operating within the Alaskan ADIZ,” NORAD announced in a Tuesday post on Twitter.

“The Russian aircraft did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” it said.

Trending:

It Wasn’t Us! White House Panics as Mar-a-Lago Backfires – Throws Garland, DOJ, FBI Completely Under the Bus

Air defense identification zones are parts of a country’s airspace and surrounding waters and areas where an overflying plane might be requested to state its intentions.

Entering an ADIZ does not necessarily mean the aircraft has violated the airspace of a country — as in the case of Russian airplane incursions this week. An ADIZ also can include territory adjacent to a nation’s sovereign territory and waters.

“We remain ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America and Arctic sovereignty,” NORAD said in a statement posted to Facebook.

ADIZ incursions often have been used by countries such as Russia and China as demonstrations of force — ones that are short of direct violations of airspace that could provoke conflict, according to NBC News.

Should the U.S. respond with similar actions?

In recent weeks, China has carried out such incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ to express opposition to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island country on Aug. 3.

The most recent incursion occurred Wednesday as nine SU-30 jets and eight J-11 jets flew into the zone, as reported by Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense.

The Russian incursions this week come as tensions between Moscow and Washington remain high over U.S. weapon supplies to Ukraine, which have helped the Eastern European country fight Russia’s large-scale invasion.

Related:

Experts Warn Pelosi’s Taiwan Visit Has Eerily Similar Tune to WWI’s Beginnings

On Monday, the Department of Defense pledged another security package for Ukraine amounting to $1 million.

“Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $1 billion to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs,” acting Pentagon press secretary Todd Breasseale said in a statement.

“This authorization is the Biden Administration’s eighteenth drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021,” Breasseale said.

The package included more “ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS),” “75,000 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition” and “1,000 Javelin and hundreds of AT4 anti-armor systems.”

Russian officials have long warned the U.S. about its involvement in the Ukraine war and its decision to arm Ukraine.

“If God forbid, Americans deliver missiles that can travel 300 kilometers [186 miles], then we simply can’t stop,” TV host Olga Skabeyeva said last month on Russian state media, according to Newsweek. “We’ll go all the way to Warsaw.”

In a June interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to “strike at those targets which we have not yet been hitting” in response to the West supplying arms to Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Andrew Jose is a freelance reporter covering security, U.S. politics, and foreign policy, among other beats. He has bylines in several outlets, notably the Daily Caller, Jewish News Syndicate, and the Times of Israel.

Andrew Jose is a freelance reporter covering security, U.S. politics, and foreign policy, among other beats. He has bylines in several outlets, notably the Daily Caller, Jewish News Syndicate, and the Times of Israel. Speak to Andrew securely via ajoseofficial@protonmail.com. Follow Andrew on Twitter: @realAndrewJose

Education

Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service

Languages Spoken

English, Spanish, Tamil, Hindi, French

Topics of Expertise

Security, Economics, Open Source Intelligence, International Politics



Source link