he United States twice scrambled fighter jets after it detected a Russian intelligence and surveillance plane near Alaska on both Wednesday and Thursday, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said. On Wednesday, two F-16s and one KC-135 tanker were launched to identify and monitor a Russian IL-20 COOT plane flying in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The next day, an E-3, two F-16s and one KC-135 tanker were sent to intercept the same type of aircraft.