The North American Aerospace Defense Command intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what a US defense official said was the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
The bombers remained in international airspace in Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and were “not seen as a threat,” according to a statement from NORAD.
The US and Canada, which together comprise NORAD, intercepted the Russian TU-95 Bear and Chinese H-6 bombers. The aircraft did not enter US or Canadian sovereign airspace, NORAD said.
It also marks the first time H-6 bombers, which are a derivative of older Soviet bombers, have entered the Alaska ADIZ, the defense official said.
The intercept was carried out by US F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, as well as Canadian CF-18 fighter jets, according to the defense official. Support aircraft were also part of the intercept, the official said.
On Thursday, China’s Defense Ministry said the Chinese and Russian air forces had organized a “joint strategic aerial patrol in the relevant airspace of the Bering Sea” as part of an existing annual cooperation plan between the two militaries.
Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the ministry, told a news conference it was the eighth such patrol organized by the two militaries since 2019, which were aimed at “further testing and enhancing the level of cooperation between the two air forces, as well as deepening strategic mutual trust and practical cooperation between the two countries.”
“This action is not aimed at third parties, it is in line with relevant international laws and international practices and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation,” Zhang said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the joint air patrol flew over the northern Pacific Ocean, including the narrow Bering Strait that separates eastern Russia from Alaska.
The Russian and Chinese crews “worked out issues of cooperation during all stages of the air patrol in the new area of joint actions,” the Ministry said in a statement. Russian Su-30SM and Su-35S fighter jets also took part in the exercise,?which lasted more than five hours, the Ministry said.
Video released by the Russian Defense Ministry shows the bombers flying together, as well as the intercept by US and Canadian aircraft.
Russia insisted the exercise was part of the 2024 military cooperation plan and “not directed against third countries.”
Asked on Thursday if the interception was an example of Russia and China “testing” the US in the wake of President Joe Biden’s decision to pull out of the 2024 presidential race, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Russia and China “are always testing us.”
“As to whether or not our adversaries are testing us at this particular time, they’re always testing us, and that’s no surprise to any of us,” he said at a press conference at the Pentagon.
Austin said the Russian and Chinese aircraft approaching US airspace was “not a surprise to us.”
“We closely monitored these aircraft, tracked the aircraft, intercepted the aircraft, which demonstrates that … our forces are at the ready all the time, and we have very good surveillance capabilities,” said Austin.
Austin said the “closest point of approach” of the Russian and Chinese aircraft to the US was “about 200 miles off of our coast.”
“If there’s any kind of challenge from any direction, I have every confidence that NORTHCOM and NORAD will be at the ready and will be able to intercept,” he added.
He also reiterated that the US is concerned about the growing relationship between Russia and China, “mostly because we’re concerned about China providing support to Russia’s illegal and unnecessary war in Ukraine.”
“We’ll see what happens and how this relationship continues to develop,” Austin said.
Russian flights into Alaska’s ADIZ are not uncommon. In May, Russia flew four aircraft into Alaska’s ADIZ, which NORAD said at the time “occurs regularly.”
But the presence of Chinese aircraft appears to be a new development. In March, the head of US Northern Command, Gen. Gregory Guillot, said China was pushing farther north into the Arctic and he expected to see aircraft there “as soon as this year potentially.”
“What I have seen is a willingness and a desire by the Chinese to act up there,” Guillot told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“We have seen them in the maritime. We have seen them under the cloud of a technical or scientific research, but we think it is certainly multi-mission, to include military.?And then I expect to see air activity in the Alaska part of the Arctic as soon as this year, potentially.
“It is a very big concern of mine.”
China considers itself a “near-Arctic” state and has worked to expand its presence in the far north, including through its cooperation with Russia.
“Alaska continues to be on the frontlines of the authoritarian aggression by the dictators in Russia and China who are increasingly working together,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan in a statement. The Alaska Republican warned, “these kinds of joint Russia and China incursions on the sea and in the air near Alaska will continue.”
CNN’s Michael Conte contributed reporting.
This story and headline has been updated with additional developments.