The North American Aerospace Defense Command said it scrambled an E-3 Sentry, two F-16s and a KC-135 tanker on Tuesday to track an IL-20 “Coot,” a Soviet-era Russian reconnaissance plane detected in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. It was the fourth time in a week—and the fifth in August, according to Sen. Dan Sullivan—that a Russian military aircraft has approached the zone. NORAD noted that the plane remained in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign territory, characterizing the activity as routine but closely monitored. Roughly the same day, a Russian Sukhoi fighter intercepted a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft over the Black Sea near Crimea. Video released by Russian and open-source defense channels shows the fighter shadowing the Poseidon, which carries the AN/APS-154 Advanced Airborne Sensor radar used for maritime patrol and anti-submarine missions. The U.S. aircraft also remained in international airspace. The twin encounters underscore persistent military friction between Washington and Moscow across two strategic fronts: the Arctic approaches to North America and the Black Sea corridor adjacent to southern Russia and occupied Crimea. In response to the uptick in Russian flights, Alaska Republican Dan Sullivan urged Congress and the Pentagon to bolster forces in the state, citing its role as “the front line” for U.S. homeland defense.