2024-07-26 14:59:15
Washington: China’s H-6 series aircraft and Russia’s Tu-95 Bear bombers flew in international airspace near Alaska on Wednesday. US aircraft tracked them and forced them to return. This is the first time any type of Chinese H-6 aircraft has flown in this airspace. It is believed that these aircraft took off from Russian bases. This shows the growing power of China and the development in its relations with Russia. It is also a matter of concern for Canada along with the US.
According to The Warzone report, the US-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracked and tried to intercept two Russian TU-95 and two Chinese H-6 military aircraft flying in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on July 24. However, it is not clear how the H-6 were stopped and which aircraft these were. The H-6 family includes several aircraft, including missile carrier aircraft and aerial refueling tankers. They are designed to carry large weapons and payloads.
Both jets remained in international airspace
NORAD’s press release said that the Russian and Chinese aircraft were in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian airspace. Despite this, the presence of Chinese H-6 in this area is a major incident. This draws even more attention when Russian Tu-95 is also flying along with the Chinese jet. H-6 are usually missile carriers. In such a situation, their flight near the coast of Alaska demonstrates the new ability of the Chinese army to directly threaten America.
This is not the first time Russian and Chinese Tu-95s and H-6s have flown long-haul flights together. That being said, it highlights the significant military cooperation between the two countries that has only deepened as Moscow has become increasingly isolated globally over its war on Ukraine.
It is not clear where these planes took off from and later landed in Alaskan airspace. Given the range of the planes, it is quite possible that bases in Russia were used as launch and recovery points. These flights into the Alaskan ADIZ certainly show Russia and China’s desire to display their power right under the nose of the US. The presence of Chinese aircraft may also increase in this region in the future.