US Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), says air and sea incursions into the areas just outside North America have not only become more frequent, but also more coordinated between the Russians and Chinese.
Those actions may be intended to test the reaction of the US and Canadian militaries.
As of late December 2025, NORAD had publicly acknowledged at least eight separate events in 2025 where it detected and tracked Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The events all took place in international airspace — near but not inside North American airspace.
Source:
Murray Brewster, CBC News: Russia and China co-operating more often and more closely in the Arctic, says NORAD commander https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/russia-china-norad-defence-incursions-9.7040134