US fighters intercept Russian aircraft off Alaska for third time in a week

LONDON -- Fighters from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on Sunday intercepted a Russian aircraft in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone for the third time in the past week, the command said in a statement. One E-3 Sentry command and control aircraft, two F-16 fighters and two KC-135s Stratotankers were dispatched "to intercept and visually identify" a Russian Il-20 surveillance and reconnaissance operating in the Alaskan ADIZ, NORAD said. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian airspace, NORAD said in its statement. "This Russian activity in the Alaskan ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat," it added. An ADIZ "begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspa