Total Incursions – 14

Balloon Trackers

Chinese Balloon Flight Path

Balloons Shot Down

February 14, 2023

• Fox News: Two U.S. F-35 fighter jets intercepted Russian fighter aircraft Tuesday as they approached Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone, officials announced Thursday. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which detected and intercepted the craft, said that it did not enter U.S. airspace. NORAD stated that the incident was not related to the spate of unidentified aircraft seen in recent weeks, calling the situation “routine.” The Russian military aircraft included a TU-95 BEAR-H bomber, as well as SU-30 and SU-35 fighter jets. 

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February 13, 2023

• Fox News: The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said Wednesday it is carrying out a “live-fly air defense exercise” off the coast of Washington state and British Columbia, just days after it intercepted Russian aircraft near Alaska and multiple airborne objects were shot down. The four Russian planes were detected and intercepted over the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone on Monday in what NORAD called a “routine” incident. As part of Wednesday’s exercise, a variety of American and Canadian planes, “including fighter aircraft, will operate at high altitude,” it said. 

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February 12, 2023

• CNN: A US F-16 fighter jet shot down another airborne object over Lake Huron on Sunday afternoon at the direction of President Joe Biden, the Pentagon said. Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the object was not assessed to be a military threat, but it was a flight hazard. “We did not assess it to be a kinetic military threat to anything on the ground, but assess it was a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities. Our team will now work to recover the object in an effort to learn more,” Ryder said.

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February 10, 2023

• CBS News: An “unidentified object” which “violated “Canadian airspace” was shot down over Canada Saturday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced. The object was shot down by a U.S. military F-22 fighter jet over the Yukon, Trudeau said. A U.S. official had previously confirmed that the object was detected by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and appeared to be a “high-altitude balloon.”

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February 4, 2023

• US DOD: U.S. officials first detected the balloon and its payload on January 28 when it entered U.S. airspace near the Aleutian Islands. The balloon traversed Alaska, Canada and re-entered U.S. airspace over Idaho. “President Biden asked the military to present options and on Wednesday President Biden gave his authorization to take down the Chinese surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to us civilians under the balloon’s path,” said a senior defense official speaking on background. “Military commanders determined that there was undue risk of debris causing harm to civilians while the balloon was overland.” An F-22 Raptor fighter from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, fired one AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon. The balloon fell approximately six miles off the coast in about 47 feet of water. No one was hurt.

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January 19, 2023

• CNN: The US Coast Guard says it is tracking a suspected Russian spy ship off the coast of Hawaii in international waters as heightened tensions between Washington and Moscow remain over Russia’s war in Ukraine. “In recent weeks, the U.S. Coast Guard has continued to monitor a Russian vessel, believed to be an intelligence gathering ship, off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands,” the USCG said in a news release. The Coast Guard noted the situation is not unusual but that it is tracking it closely. “While foreign military vessels may transit freely through the U.S. economic exclusive zone (EEZ), as per customary international laws, foreign-flagged military vessels have often been observed operating and loitering within Coast Guard District Fourteen’s area of response,” the release stated.

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October 18, 2022

• CBS News: U.S. F-16 warplanes intercepted two Russian bombers in international airspace near Alaska on Tuesday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said. The Tu-95 bombers were intercepted after “entering and operating within the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone,” NORAD said in a statement. The Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ, is a perimeter in which air traffic is monitored beyond the border of national airspace to provide additional reaction time in case of hostile actions. While tensions are high between the United States and Russia over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, NORAD said the bombers were not seen as a threat.

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September 27, 2022

• Al Jazeera: A US Coast Guard vessel on routine patrol in the Bering Sea off Alaska has reported an encounter with a Chinese guided missile cruiser which was later discovered to be travelling with two other Chinese naval vessels and four Russian Navy ships. The Renhai CG 101 missile cruiser was observed some 138km (86 miles) north of Alaska’s Kiska Island by the US Coast Guard Cutter Kimball while on a routine patrol on September 19, the coast guard said in a statement on Monday.

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September 14, 2021

• The Eurasian Times: A PLA Navy flotilla comprising one of China’s most powerful warships recently sailed in the international waters near Alaska, according to reports. China’s state-run Global Times cited a news report purportedly published by a website affiliated to the US Department of Defense, which was later deleted. “If the report is true, activities by Chinese warships are likely a normal far-sea training amid the PLA Navy’s rapid development of such capabilities”, Chinese analysts said on September 13. They also noted that this development could be seen as China’s countermeasure against the US military’s “provocations” in the South China Sea in the name of “freedom of navigation”, Global Times reported.

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October 20, 2020

• CBS News: U.S. fighter jets intercepted four Russian military aircraft in international airspace near Alaska on Monday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said. The Russian planes came within 35 miles of Alaska’s shores but didn’t enter U.S. or Canadian airspace during the encounter. The American F-22 fighters intercepted two Russian bombers, which were escorted by two Su-35 fighter jets, NORAD said in a statement. The Russian planes were supported by an airborne early warning aircraft.

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September 19, 2020

• NORAD: North American Aerospace Defense Command F-22 Raptors and an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, supported by KC-135 air refuelers, positively identified two Tu-160 bombers and two Su-35 fighter aircraft entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) three times last night. Although the Russian aircraft loitered in the ADIZ for approximately four hours total over the three incursions and came within 50 nautical miles of Alaska’s Nunavik Island, they remained in international airspace and at no time entered United States or Canadian sovereign airspace.

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August 28, 2020

• NORAD: North American Aerospace Defense Command F-22 fighter aircraft, supported by KC-135 air refuelers, intercepted three groups of two Tu-142 Russian maritime patrol aircraft that entered the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone late last night. The Russian aircraft loitered within the ADIZ for approximately five hours and came within 50 nautical miles of Alaskan shores; however, remained in international airspace and at no time entered United States or Canadian sovereign airspace.

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June 29, 2020

• CBS News: U.S. warplanes intercepted four Russian reconnaissance aircraft near Alaska, marking the sixth such incident this month, U.S. commanders said. The Russian Tu-142’s came within 65 nautical miles south of Alaska’s Aleutian island chain and “loitered” in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) for eight hours on Saturday. But they stayed in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian airspace, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said on Twitter. NORAD posted video of the Russian aircraft, which were intercepted by F-22s.

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June 10, 2020

• CBS News: U.S. fighter jets intercepted Russian bombers twice on Wednesday off the coast of Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said Wednesday. The intercepts come less than two weeks after U.S. bombers were met by Russian jets over the Black Sea. NORAD said US F-22 Raptors intercepted a Russian bomber formation early Wednesday that came within 20 nautical miles of the Alaskan coast. NORAD posted images of the incident on Twitter. The formation consisted of two TU-95 bombers, two SU-35 fighter jets and an A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft, NORAD said. The second formation consisted of two TU-95 bombers and an A-50 and came within 32 nautical miles of Alaskan shores.

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