NORAD detects Russian aircraft operating near Alaska

The North American Aerospace Defense Command detected a Russian aircraft flying near Alaska on Monday, amid several planned military exercises in the area. 

The aircraft was in international airspace, NORAD said, and did not enter Alaskan or Canadian airspace. It did enter the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone. The zone, called ADIZ, "begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace," NORAD said in a news release. 

NORAD did not elaborate on which military training exercises were ongoing, but did say they were "large-scale" and taking place in and around the state.