July 25, 2024

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Thursday that the Russian and Chinese bombers that came within 200 miles of the Alaskan coast this week marked the first time the two countries have jointly flown so close to U.S. territory.

The unprecedented exercise forced the U.S. and Canada to scramble F-35, F-16 and F-18 fighter planes to shadow the bombers.

The intercept — which was announced by NORAD Wednesday evening — marked “the first time that we’ve seen these two countries fly together like that,” Austin told reporters at the Pentagon. “I think the closest point of approach was about 200 miles off of our coast.”

Read more:

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/25/china-russia-alaska-canada-bombers-00171205