Airspace irony: US fighters who shadowed Russian jets to protect Putin at summit

As Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares for his first visit to the United States in a decade, an ironic twist emerges: the very US warplanes that recently intercepted Russian aircraft will now help escort the Kremlin leader on American soil.

Scott Clancy, retired Royal Canadian Air Force major general and former deputy commander of NORAD’s Alaska Region, told Newsweek, “It is an interesting irony that the fabric used to intercept and defend North America from military incursions like those that Russia has done three times so far this year, will be used to protect the Russian president for this upcoming summit.”

NORAD—a joint US-Canadian military organization responsible for securing North American airspace—has frequently scrambled fighters against Russian bombers and fighters flying near Alaska’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). On July 22, for example, NORAD F-35s intercepted Russian Tu-95 bombers and Su-35 fighters off Alaska’s coast.

NORAD spokesperson Captain Rebecca Garand explained that besides aerospace warning and control, NORAD “is also responsible for working in coordination with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US, and Transport Canada and NAV CANADA in Canada, to support and enforce Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) areas as well as airspace over National Security Special Events (NSSE), when required or requested.”

Clancy noted Alaska as “the largest concentration of operational Gen 5 aircraft in the world,” with F-22 Raptors and F-35s based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Fairbanks, key hubs for summit security.

Regarding summit protocols, Clancy said, “NORAD’s procedures and systems would work alongside the FAA to identify any deviation from the stringent protocols of the TFR, in order to delineate between normal air traffic and that which is suspicious.” He added, “They would do so by intercepting the aircraft… to provide decision makers the best chance of getting all the required information to make decisions pertaining to the aircraft and the safety of and security of the principles, especially POTUS.”

Putin’s travel plans remain closely guarded, though Clancy speculated the Russian leader may forgo a military escort to avoid distractions from the summit’s message. Meanwhile, the US Secret Service will lead security efforts, coordinating protection for both President Trump and Putin.

A Secret Service spokesperson told Newsweek, “The safety of the President is our highest priority.” On operational security, they added, “the Secret Service does not discuss the specific means and methods used to conduct our protective operations.”

By Vafa Guliyeva