Russia and China conducted a joint bomber flight that entered Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone on Wednesday, marking the first time the two countries have flown near the United States.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command said it monitored two Chinese H-6 bombers and two Russian TU-95 strategic bombers flying in Alaska’s ADIZ on Wednesday, according to a news release. China and Russia have previously conducted bomber flights near Japan. The ADIZ is a larger area than air space that is claimed by an individual state and is considered international air space. Canadian and U.S. fighters intercepted the Chinese and Russian planes.
“The Russian and PRC aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace,” NORAD said in the news release. “This Russian and PRC activity in the Alaska ADIZ is not seen as a threat, and NORAD will continue to monitor competitor activity near North America and meet presence with presence.”
In a Thursday news conference, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin described the joint bomber flights as “not a surprise” and said China and Russia may have been planning them for some time.
“This is the first time that we’ve seen these two countries fly together,” Austin told reporters at the Pentagon. “They didn’t enter our air space. I think the closest point of approach was about 200 miles off of our coast, but this is a thing that we track very closely. We’re able to intercept. And if it happened again, if there’s any kind of a challenge from any direction, I have every confidence that [U.S. Northern Command] and NORAD will be at the ready and be able to intercept.”
Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan (R), in a statement, described the flights as an “escalation” and called on the U.S. to ramp up the military capability and required infrastructure to counter the two countries in the Arctic.
“Alaska continues to be on the frontlines of the authoritarian aggression by the dictators in Russia and China who are increasingly working together,” Sullivan said.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence on Thursday issued a news release stating that the aviation group of the Russian Aerospace Forces Tu-95MS and the People’s Liberation Army Air Force H-6K bombers carried out an air patrol over the Chukchi Sea, Bering Sea waters and the northern part of the Pacific Ocean.
“During the flight, the Russian and Chinese crews worked out issues of cooperation during all stages of the air patrol in the new area of joint actions,” according to the release.
Russian Aerospace Forces Su-30SM and Su-35S aircraft carried out air cover and the joint flight duration of Russian and Chinese aircraft was more than 5 hours, according to the Russian MoD.
“During the patrol, the aircraft of both counters strictly obeyed to the provision of the international law. There has been no violation of the airspace of foreign countries,” according to the release, which added that the patrol is part of the implementation of the 2024 military cooperation plan between Russia and China and is not directed against third countries.
China’s Ministry of National Defense did not issue any news releases on the patrol, but spokesperson Snr. Col. Zhang Xiaogang said this is the eighth air strategic cruise jointly organized by the two militaries since 2019 to test and improve collaboration between the two air forces and deepen their strategic mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation.
“The operation does not target a third party, is in line with international law and practice, and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation,” Zhang said during the defense ministry’s monthly press conference.
Russia and China have routinely carried out joint bomber flights, though these have only taken place over the Sea of Japan, East China Sea and Philippine Sea, with the last joint bomber flight happening in December 2023. This prompted South Korea and Japan to scramble fighters when the flight came near the two countries.
The Russian Ministry of Defence release referred to Wednesday’s flight location as a new area of joint operations, indicating that both countries intend to carry out more on regular basis in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea waters near United States territory.
Last July and August, the Russian Navy and People’s Liberation Army Navy conducted a joint patrol near Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. This year’s joint patrol, however, sailed in the East China Sea, Pacific Ocean and Philippine Sea before ending in the South China Sea on July 14.
Both Russia and China have repeatedly stated that their joint naval patrols and bomber flights are not directed at any other country and are scheduled drills under the annual military cooperation plan of the two countries.
Japan takes a different view of these joint activities, instead seeing them as deepening the cooperation between Russia and China, including their military activities, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defense’s annual defense white paper.
“It has also conducted joint bomber flights and naval navigations with Russia in the vicinity of Japan,” according to the white paper. “These repeated joint activities are clearly intended for demonstration of force against Japan and are a grave concern from the perspective of the national security of Japan.”
This week’s joint bomber flight near Alaska occurred shortly after the two countries conducted a joint naval drill in the South China Sea on July 17. Previous joint naval drills took place near Japan and included a group sail around the main islands of Japan. But this year’s drill took place near the southern China city of Zhanjiang, which is also the headquarters of the PLAN South Sea Fleet.
