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The United States military scrambled fighter jets again Tuesday to track  flying near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command . 

It was the latest in a series of similar incidents within the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, which is a section of international airspace just outside of U.S. and Canadian sovereign space that both countries monitor for national security reasons. The zone begins where U.S. territory ends off the coast of Alaska, and aircrafts from other countries are required to identify themselves to the U.S. and Canada when they enter.

Russian military activity in the identification zone is common , said NORAD. On Tuesday, the command said it detected and surveilled one IL-20 COOT, a Russian reconnaissance aircraft, inside the Alaskan identification zone after intercepting the same type of spy plane flying over the region last , and Sunday. 

NORAD scrambled multiple fighter jets to monitor the spy plane in each of those incidents, including the latest one on Tuesday, according to the command. None of the situations resulted in the Russian plane entering U.S. or Canadian sovereign space.

U.S. officials have spotted Russian military aircraft inside the Alaskan identification zone multiple times just this year. In January, the U.S. and Canada scrambled fighter jets , drawing public scrutiny as geopolitical tension increased in the region. 

Earlier, in September 2024,  of a Russian jet flying "within just a few feet" of NORAD aircraft off the coast of Alaska. At the time, a U.S. general said "the conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all."