US fighter jets intercept Russian planes near Alaska

'No threat'

This is an operation consisting of escorting a potentially rival aircraft deemed too close to an airspace, or having entered it. “The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter US or Canadian sovereign airspace,” he added, specifying that such Russian activity "occurred regularly and was not considered a threat or a provocative activity".

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If this interception was a routine operation, the combat planes stationed in North America had the opportunity in February to carry out real and rare offensive aerial actions, by shooting down a Chinese balloon, described as a spy by Washington, in the off the east coast of the country and three other unidentified flying objects.