On Monday, four Russian aircraft flew into a buffer zone of international airspace near Alaska, including a bomber and a fighter jet, prompting a response from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). This was described as routine and one of several interactions that occur yearly between Russian and NORAD aircraft in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone. The Russian aircraft did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace and remained in international airspace. NORAD had anticipated this Russian activity and was prepared to intercept it. The aircraft were tracked and positively identified by NORAD, which routinely monitors foreign aircraft movements and, if necessary, escorts them from the ADIZ. The Russian activity is not seen as a threat, nor is it seen as provocative. The interaction is not believed to be related to the recent aerial object activity over the last couple of weeks.