F-35s, F-22s and CF-18, supported by tankers and AWACS, were scrambled by NORAD to intercept two Russian Tu-142 operating in the Alaskan and Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones.
For the second time this year, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) reported an intercept of Russian military aircraft, specifically two Russian Tupolev Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. On Mar. 4, 2026, NORAD scrambled twelve U.S. and Canadian aircraft to intercept and monitor the Tu-142s.
The allied aircraft included two U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning IIs and two F-22 Raptors, as well as two Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CF-18 fighters (Canadian designation for the F/A-18C/D Hornets). These were supported by four KC-135 Stratotankers, one E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) and one CC-150 tanker from the RCAF.
The Russian aircraft activity comes as NORAD is overseeing the Arctic Edge 26 exercise, focused on “Cruise Missile Defense activities with F-35s from the Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR) in Alaska,” the command said on Mar. 5 on X. Neither NORAD, nor the Russian Ministry of Defense released any images and visuals of the intercept at the time of writing.
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked two Russian TU-142 military aircraft operating in the Alaskan and Canadian Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ) on March 4, 2026.
NORAD launched two U.S. Air Force…
— North American Aerospace Defense Command (@NORADCommand) March 5, 2026
Intercepts of Russian aircraft by NORAD are common, with the most recent taking place off Alaska on Feb. 19, 2026. Previous intercepts in the last few years have included, beside the Tu-142, the Tu-95 Bear bomber and Su-35 fighters.
NORAD CF-18s from the 🇨🇦 Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) launch in support of #ArcticEdge26 to conduct Cruise Missile Defense activities with F-35s from the 🇺🇸 Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR) in Alaska.
Training against simulated airborne threats strengthens our layered defense and… pic.twitter.com/0Zn4cklo2R
— North American Aerospace Defense Command (@NORADCommand) March 4, 2026
Tu-142s in Alaskan and Canadian ADIZs
NORAD said on Mar. 4 it “detected and tracked two Russian TU-142 military aircraft operating in the Alaskan and Canadian” ADIZs, and then launched the 12-aircraft package “to positively identify, monitor, and intercept the Russian aircraft.” As is the usual case with all intercepts, NORAD clarified that the Russian aircraft flight was perceived as routine activity, which did not violate national U.S. and Canadian airspace and did not undertake hostile actions or maneuvers.
“The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” said NORAD’s statement. “This Russian activity in the Alaskan and Canadian ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.”
The Russian MoD released footage from the VKS sorties into the Alaskan ADIZ.
Top left: a Su-35S and an F-35A (filmed from a Tu-95MS).
Top right: an F-35A (filmed from a Tu-95MS).
Bottom left: a pair of F-16Cs (filmed from a Su-35S).
Bottom right: a pair of F-16Cs. https://t.co/eOUNAgVbyu pic.twitter.com/RmSAJCB6vg
— Guy Plopsky (@GuyPlopsky) February 20, 2026
As we often explained in our previous reports, an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) is not a country’s sovereign national airspace. It is merely a notional boundary envisioned for an advance warning of approaching aircraft and to allow sufficient time to respond.
NORAD described this saying “An ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.”
As for the ongoing Arctic Edge 2026 exercise, the caption of an image on DVIDS, showing two RCAF CF-18s taxiing at Eielson AFB, Alaska, said: “AE26 is a Northern American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command-led homeland defense exercise designed to improve readiness, demonstrate capabilities, and enhance Joint and Allied Force interoperability in the Arctic.”
Previous Tu-142 and Tu-95 intercepts
In the Feb. 19, 2026, intercept, the Russian package was larger, comprising two Tu-95 Bears, two Su-35s, and one A-50 AEW (Airborne Early Warning) aircraft. The U.S. Air Force had also launched a large intercept force of nine aircraft, which included two F-16s, two F-35s, one E-3, and four KC-135s tankers.
The Tu-142 aircraft, derived from the Tu-95, has also been intercepted in Alaska’s ADIZ before. On Mar. 9, 2020, in an intercept in the Alaskan ADIZ we reported here at The Aviationist, two Tu-142s were intercepted by a mix of U.S. and Canadian warplanes similar to the Mar. 4, 2026 event.
These included two U.S. F-22 Raptors and two Canadian CF-18s, supported by a KC-135 Stratotanker and E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft. At the time, NORAD said the Tu-142s entered the Alaskan ADIZ from the north and remained within it over the Beaufort Sea for nearly four hours, coming as close as 50 miles of the Alaskan coast. Allied aircraft escorted them for the entire duration.
This is what we wrote at the time: “While the specific reasons for the intercepts are unknown, Tu-142s carry out long-range navigations and take part to exercises with naval units once or twice a year (or at least, the concentrate missions close to the NATO airspace borders in a couple of periods, March being one of these). As often explained in detail, Bears sometimes fly near international borders to collect data about a country’s air defense network and to collect mapping and signals intelligence to build a communications and early warning ‘Order of Battle’ so that radio and radar frequencies can be identified and cataloged for future use.”
U.S. F-22s, Canadian CF-18s Intercepted Two Tu-142 Aircraft in Alaskan ADIZ. And Here Are Some Cool Shots: https://t.co/sUJejYQjRY pic.twitter.com/aQQttekNLC
— The Aviationist (@TheAviationist) March 10, 2020
A few days later, on Mar. 14, 2020, NORAD sent up F-22s, E-3s and KC-135s, this time to intercept “two pairs” of Russian Tu-142s in the Alaskan ADIZ. This happened while a submarine component of the U.S. Navy’s biennial Ice Exercise (ICEX) was underway.
The four Tu-142s entered the ADIZ from the West and North of Alaska, respectively. The western pair of Tu-142s remained within the ADIZ for approximately four hours and loitered in the ICEX’s vicinity, while the northern pair spent approximately 15 minutes, and all four aircraft were escorted by F-22s the entire time.
Jan. 25, 2021 and Mar. 29, 2021 again saw two Tu-142s on each of the occasions intercepted by NORAD, with fighters sent up from the Joint-Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Alaska.
Other Russian intercepts in Alaskan ADIZ by NORAD
Last year, on Sep. 24, 2025, NORAD detected and tracked two Tu-95s and two Su-35s in the Alaskan ADIZ, and responded with an E-3, four F-16s, and four KC-135 tankers. Then, between Aug. 20 and 26, 2025, it tracked an Ilyushin Il-20 COOT-A Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft four times, responding with E-3s, F-16s, KC-135s.
While not uncommon, the frequency of three flights within a six-day span drew attention, particularly amid heightened geopolitical tensions and the ongoing Northern Edge 2025 drill.
