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By Weijia Jiang, Eleanor Watson Updated on: August 7, 2023 / 10:02 AM / CBS News The U.S. Navy sent destroyers to the coast of Alaska last week after 11 Russian and Chinese warships were spotted patrolling nearby international waters. Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska, called the size of the Chinese and Russian joint operation "unprecedented" and said the U.S. deployed four Navy destroyer ships near the Aleutian Islands in response. The destroyers were the USS John McCain, USS Benfold, USS John Finn and USS Chung-Hoon. U.S. aircraft were also in the area throughout the combined exercise, which...

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked several Russian aircraft in the Alaska area over the last week. Two aircraft were detected Sunday and two on Saturday, according to NORAD. The planes were Russian IL-38 military aircraft and were operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone. NORAD said the aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian airspace. Similarly, NORAD said last Wednesday that two Russian military aircraft were detected. A day later, two Russian TU-142 military aircraft were detected. While the activity may be an uptick from normal operations, NORAD said...

The U.S. military is steadily boosting its presence near Alaska, deploying a destroyer and an Army unit armed with a long-range missile system as tensions rise due to stepped-up Russian and Chinese military activities near the Alaskan coast. Over the past month, the destroyer USS Sterett has been dispatched to the Alaskan coast in response to the Russian navy ships operating in the area, Army troops have landed on a remote Alaskan island, and fighter squadrons and other aircraft based in Alaska have been placed on heightened alert. The actions follow a series of Russian air operations that skirted Alaskan...

Military officials have released new video of a startling encounter between a Russian fighter jet flying near Alaska and a U.S. Air Force F-16 sent to intercept it. In the video released Monday, the Russian plane comes from behind the camera and swoops by the U.S. jet, just feet from the aircraft. The video release of the close encounter Sept. 23, with the U.S. pilot under the direction of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, comes after a series of Russian incursions into the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone just beyond U.S. sovereign airspace. The interaction drew condemnation from NORAD’s...

Russian military activity was also detected near Alaska in February and in December. The North American Aerospace Defense Command said Tuesday that Russian warplanes were flying off the coast of Alaska and were being tracked by the U.S. military. NORAD made it clear that the planes were not a threat and that they did not go into Canadian or American airspace, according to CBS News. The number of planes was also not made clear. "NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions," the aerospace...

China and Russia conducted a joint naval operation near the coast of Alaska earlier this week in a “highly provocative” move amid the war in Ukraine that triggered a robust US military response. Eleven Russian and Chinese ships neared the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska earlier this week near the maritime boundary Russia shares with the US, but the fleets never entered US waters, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A Russian official this week threatened the US over the freezing of Russian assets, urging it to remember that Alaska was once part of Russia's territory. "Let America always remember: there is a part of its territory that is Russia — Alaska," Vyacheslav Volodin, a Putin ally and speaker of the Russian parliament's lower house, said on Wednesday, according to multiple media outlets. "When they attempt to appropriate our assets abroad, they should be aware that we also have something to claim back," Volodin added. In other hawkish comments made on Wednesday, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russia's Security...

Four Russian aircraft were detected and intercepted over the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone on Monday in what NORAD called a "routine" incident. Two F-16 fighter jets were dispatched by NORAD to intercept the Russian aircraft, which included a TU-95 BEARH-H and SU-35 fighter jet. NORAD also sent out two F-35A fighters, an E-3 Sentry, and two KC-135 Stratotankers to assist. "Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian activity in the North American ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat, nor is the activity seen as provocative,"...

Billboards proclaiming "Alaska Is Ours!" have been spotted in Russia one day after a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that the country could reclaim the territory that was sold to the U.S. in 1867. Multiple billboards bearing the slogan surprised residents in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk after being spotted on Thursday, according to Krasnoyarsk news agency NGS24. One day earlier, Putin ally and State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin suggested that Russia could "take back" Alaska in retaliation for economic sanctions imposed on Russia following the country's invasion of Ukraine. While the billboards appeared just after an...

The U.S. military said it intercepted two Russian bombers near Alaska on Monday. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said it detected two Russian bombers in Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone, which covers the international airspace outside of the U.S. and Canada near the far northern state. Two American F-16 fighter jets intercepted the Russian aircraft, which did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. The recent activity is “not seen as a threat nor is the activity seen as provocative,” NORAD noted in its press release.

The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament threatened Wednesday to “claim back” Alaska if the United States froze or seized Russian assets as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine. “Let America always remember: there’s a piece of territory, Alaska,” Vyacheslav Volodin said at the last session of parliament, the State Duma, before it goes on summer break. “When they try to manage our resources abroad, let them think before they act that we, too, have something to take back,” Volodin said. He noted that deputy speaker Pyotr Tolstoy had proposed holding a referendum among Alaskans to join Russia.

A member of Russia's parliament called for reparations from the United States on Sunday -- including the return of historic settlements in Alaska and California -- over the west's vast economic sanctions. The Kremlin has been flooding the airwaves of its state-run channels with pro-war propaganda that paints a vastly different portrait to reality and shields the Russian people from the horrors of Vladimir Putin's bloody invasion of Ukraine, the Daily Beast first reported. Moscow's TV pundits and show hosts have also begun endorsing the idea of publicly hanging Ukrainians who are standing against Russia -- something the Kremlin has...

Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin warned that Russia could demand Alaska back if the US continues to seize Russian resources abroad on Wednesday.

Russian parliament member Oleg Matveychev on a TV program addressed waves of sanctions against Russia in response to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, saying leaders should “think about reparations.” “The harm these sanctions caused us cost money. Return of possessions, including possessions of the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and even parts of Russia that are now occupied by the United States,” Matveychev said on Sunday, according to the Anchorage Daily News. The host of the show asked Matveychev about the return of Alaska and Fort Ross, which was established by Russians in California, according to the California Department of...

A member of Russia's parliament called for reparations from the United States on Sunday -- including the return of historic settlements in Alaska and California -- over the west's vast economic sanctions. The Kremlin has been flooding the airwaves of its state-run channels with pro-war propaganda that paints a vastly different portrait to reality and shields the Russian people from the horrors of Vladimir Putin's bloody invasion of Ukraine, the Daily Beast first reported. Alaska and Fort Ross in California were part of the Russian empire in the 18th and 19th centuries before they were sold to the United States....

Ah, Alaska, America's 49th state and the Last Frontier. The home of salmon, gold, oil, and many kinds of wildlife. And a potential place of origin for World War III. In 1867, the Russian Tsar sold the territory of Russian America to the United States. The territory wasn't doing the Tsar much good, never really turning a profit, and proving to be an unnecessary thorn in the Empire's already strained relationship with the UK (which owned Canada), so the Russian government was open to any reasonable opportunity to offload it. Russia and the US being rather buddy-buddy in the 1850s...

U.S. fighter jets intercepted eight Russian warplanes near Alaska in two separate incidents, according to military officials on Wednesday.“NORAD F-22 Raptors, supported by KC-135 Stratotankers and an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System, successfully completed two intercepts of Russian bomber aircraft formations entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone last night,” the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) wrote on Wednesday morning. NORAD F-22 Raptors, supported by KC-135 Stratotankers and an E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System, successfully completed two intercepts of Russian bomber aircraft formations entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone last night. pic.twitter.com/9iSZK0Vu2F— North American Aerospace Defense...

US F-22 Raptors were sent out to intercept Russian bombers near Alaska on Wednesday morning, North American Aerospace Defense Command said. The US fighters were supported by KC-135 Stratotankers and E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System planes. The NORAD force intercepted two Russian aircraft formations consisting of bombers, fighters, and early warning aircraft in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. One group came "within 20 nautical miles of Alaskan shores," NORAD said. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. US Air Force fighters backed by support aircraft intercepted two pairs of Russian bombers in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone...

U.S. F-22 Raptor fighter jets intercepted two Russian bomber formations, comprised of Russian Tu-95 bombers, Su-35 fighter jets, and A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft, just 30 miles from Alaska. The Russian Defense Ministry posted a video of their bombers taking off and later being intercepted. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed it intercepted the Russian aircraft early Wednesday morning in a series of tweets. “North American Aerospace Defense Command F-22 Raptors, supported by KC-135 Stratotankers and E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System, completed two intercepts of Russian Bomber formations entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone...

U.S. and Royal Canadian air force fighter jets on Monday intercepted two Russian reconnaissance aircraft north of Alaska, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced on Tuesday. The U.S. F-22 Raptors and Canadian CF-18 Hornets “intercepted two Russian Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone,” NORAD said over multiple posts to Twitter. The fighters – supported by an E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning And Control System and a KC-135 Stratotanker – escorted the Russian planes for the four hours they remained in the zone, which extends 200 miles off Alaska's coast. NORAD said the Russian aircraft remained...