NORAD detects 4 Russian military aircraft near Alaska after the US Army recently deployed soldiers to the area

() – The North American Aerospace Defense Command says it detected Four Russian military aircraft flying near Alaska This Monday, less than two weeks after soldiers from the United States Army were deployed to the area as part of a “force protection operation” amid increased Russian and Chinese military exercises in the region.

The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace in Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and did not enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace, NORAD said in a statement. “This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not considered a threat,” the statement said.

NORAD has intercepted Russian military aircraft flying near Alaska several times this month.

The Army sent elements of the 11th Airborne Division to Shemya Island in Alaska on Sept. 12 as a show of “lethal and ready force” in response to Russian military exercises in the area, the Army said at the time. The division is known as the Arctic Angels and is normally stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Fort Wainwright in Alaska.