The United States deployed approximately 130 soldiers and mobile rocket launchers to a western Alaskan island as Russia and China conducted joint military drills close to American territory. The two nations’ “Ocean-24” joint military exercises in the Pacific and Arctic oceans prompted a robust U.S. response.
Eight Russian military planes and four navy vessels, including two submarines, have approached Alaska during these drills.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, reports a significant increase in Russian military aircraft activity near Alaska, with planes detected over a four-day period this month. While no aircraft breached U.S. sovereign airspace, their presence in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) is notable.
In July, U.S. and Canadian fighters intercepted a joint Russian-Chinese air patrol near Alaska, involving six fighter jets.
“To my knowledge, those aircraft did not enter into U.S. airspace,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Tuesday, Sept. 17. “And it’s not the first time that we’ve seen the Russians and the Chinese flying, you know, in — in the vicinity. And that’s something that we obviously closely monitor, and it’s also something that we’re prepared to respond to. But in this particular case, it did not pose a threat to — to U.S. national security. And I’d refer you to the Russians in terms of why they feel compelled to want to look at the United States a little bit closer.”
The U.S. has also deployed a guided missile destroyer and a Coast Guard vessel to western Alaska in response to the Ocean-24 joint military exercises.
Russian President Vladimir Putin frames these joint operations as strengthening military cooperation with “friendly states,” while accusing the United States of attempting to maintain global military dominance.
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