U.S. and Canadian fighter jets intercepted two Russian reconnaissance planes near Alaska on Monday, flying with the foreign aircraft for hours until they finally withdrew, military officials said. American F-22 Raptor stealth jets and Canadian CF-18 Hornets escorted the two Tupolev Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft for the duration of their four-hour flight over the Beaufort Sea, North American Aerospace Defense Command [NORAD] officials said in a statement. “As we continue to conduct exercises and operations in the north, we are driven by a single unyielding priority: defending the homelands.”A KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft and E-3 Sentry AWACS [airborne warning and control system] aircraft supported the NORAD fighter jets, officials said. The Russian aircraft flew as close as 50 nautical miles to the Alaskan coast, according to officials. Russian aircraft flying near Alaska or Canada has been fairly routine, with the last occurring in January.

Source: Fox News March 11, 2020 20:09 UTC