Austin said it was “not a surprise” to detect a joint Chinese and Russian flight near Alaskan airspace but that it was unprecedented.
“This is the first time that we’ve seen these two countries fly together like that,” he said.
Austin added it could be a potential test. “They’re always testing us and and that’s no surprise to any of us.”
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said Wednesday it detected two Russian TU-95 and two Chinese H-6 strategic bombers operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
The ADIZ is a stretch of international space in which nations seek to identify incoming aircraft.
In this case, NORAD scrambled U.S. and Canadian fighter jets to escort the Russian and Chinese planes.
While China and Russia have held maritime drills and exercises before, the joint flight sends a troubling message to Washington.
Austin said he was “concerned” about China and Russia’s cooperation, particularly over the war in Ukraine as Beijing is accused of supplying nonlethal technology to support Russian weapons.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said the joint flight was an “unprecedented provocation by our adversaries.”
“I want to commend the US-Canada integrated and synchronized response and will continue to monitor the situation,” she wrote on X.
Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Ala.) has joined Murkowski in the past in fighting to keep funding the Alaska Air National Guard and maintain a vital airspace operations center in the state.
“Alaska is at the front lines of America’s national security in the Arctic and the Indo-Pacific,” she wrote on X. “This unprovoked aggression by Russia and China underscores the need for robust investment in the United States’ defense capabilities in the Far North.”
