U.S. military jets from Alaska scrambled three times last week to intercept Russian military surveillance aircraft flying near U.S. airspace, according to a NORAD news release.

On Wednesday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected an Ilyushin IL-20 spy plane operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), just outside sovereign U.S. airspace.

NORAD dispatched two Alaska-based F-16s and a KC-135 air refueler to identify and track the plane until it left the ADIZ, which extends 150 miles off the state’s coastline.

On Thursday, NORAD detected a second IL-20 in the ADIZ and scrambled two F-16s, a KC-135, and an E-3 AWACS surveillance plane.

On Sunday, NORAD deployed two F-16s, an E-3, and two KC-135s to intercept another Ilyushin IL-20.

According to

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