What is louder than a Cold War-bomber flying at full speed just 30 nautical miles off American shores? The political tremors when NATO and Russian aircraft fight over contested airspace. On September 24, 2025, the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) scrambled a package of layered intercepts to monitor two Russian Tupolev Tu-95 “Bear” long-range strategic bombers and two Sukhoi Su-35 “Flanker” fighters inside Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), an international buffer airspace where all planes are mandated to identify themselves.
As described by NORAD spokesperson Capt. Rebecca Garand, “The two TU-95s and two SU-35s flew inside the Alaskan ADIZ for approximately 53 minutes; the closest point of approach to the U.S. mainland was 30 nautical miles southwest of St. Lawrence Island.” The intercept force included four F-16 Fighting Falcons, an E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, and four KC-135 Stratotankers, a deployment that was not simply to identify the intruders but to conduct a long-term shadowing mission above the Bering Sea.
The Tu-95 is still one of the most recognizable planes in military aviation. Originally taking to the skies in the 1950s, four Kuznetsov NK-12 turboprop engines power enormous contra-rotating propellers with a record-high power output among any turboprop-powered aircraft in use and an audible sound for miles. Originally built to deliver nuclear payloads to continental United States targets, the Bear has been modified with sophisticated avionics, cruise missile capabilities, and electronic warfare packages. Historical precedent lends credibility to its strategic reach: a Tu-95 variant once delivered the Soviet Union’s Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear bomb ever exploded.
The Su-35 Flanker-E/M, however, represents Russia’s modern air superiority ambitions. Powered by two Saturn AL-31F 117S turbofan engines, the aircraft has a speed of Mach 2.25 and has the capability to do extreme aerobatics through the assistance of thrust-vectoring nozzles. It can carry a package of long-range Kh-48 UshE missiles, precision-guided bombs such as the KAB-500S-E satellite-guided munition, and unguided rockets up to 420mm caliber. This combination of speed, maneuverability, and firepower makes the Su-35 a useful escort for strategic bombers in hostile airspace.
At the heart of the intercept was the E-3 Sentry AWACS, a Boeing 707 plane with a turntable-like radar dome above that could track over 600 targets simultaneously at ranges over 250 miles. In ADIZ operations, the E-3 is the command-and-control hub, merging information from ground-based radars, satellites, and its own sensors to control fighter position and tanker rendezvous. The KC-135 Stratotankers themselves, which could offload up to 200,000 pounds of fuel, enabled the F-16s to remain on station during the 53-minute battle without impacting readiness.
This intercept was the ninth of its kind in Alaska’s ADIZ in 2025, from 12 such instances in 2024 and eight in 2023. Trends show that the flights often coincide with major U.S. exercises such as Northern Edge, causing analysts to assume they are intelligence-gathering missions. The August 26 sighting of an Il-20 “Coot” indicates intercept electronic intelligence plane with sensors and antennas solidified this assessment. As NORAD noted, “meeting presence with presence” continues to be an active philosophy, each Russian sortie receiving an instant and conspicuous response.
While NORAD emphasized the meeting was not a direct threat, the geo-political climate most definitely was not serene. Only hours prior to the intercept, U.S. President Donald Trump told journalists at the United Nations, “Yes, I do,” when asked if NATO should shoot down Russian aircraft that enter the alliance’s territory. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also commented in the same vein, stating, “The option of shooting down a fighter jet that is intruding our airspace is on the table.” The remarks were made following recent incidents within Poland and Estonia where Russian fighters and drones overflew sovereign airspace, eliciting Article 4 consultations and air policing operations.
Operationally and as an engineering feat, the Alaska intercept demonstrated seamless meshing of various platforms into a single defense system. NORAD’s “layered defense” concept employing satellite surveillance, ground radar, airborne sensors, and fighter response is quick to detect and intercept even at remote zones like the Bering Sea. The gathering also helped put the ongoing relevance of vintage aircraft like the Tu-95, with its design dating back to the majority of its interceptors, and the Su-35, a highly capable fighter that is designed for deterrence and combat in contested spaces, in perspective.
As Russian deep air activity remains at Cold War-esque levels, each intercept is a proving ground for tactics and machinery but also for will. Over Alaskan skies, that will was measured in contrails, radar returns, and the unyielding presence of NATO aircraft holding the line.
