Foreign Military

Officials with the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) told state and federal officials last month that they would be interested in expanding military access on Adak Island. The announcement was made during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Feb. 13, after Sen. Dan Sullivan pressed federal officials to strengthen military presence in Alaska.

The U.S. Coast Guard spotted four foreign military vessels in the Bering Sea Saturday. Coast Guard officials say the joint patrol between Russian and Chinese ships shows their “increased interest in the Arctic.”

The U.S. Coast Guard encountered a Russian ship near the Aleutians Monday, less than a month after identifying Chinese military ships in the region. The Coast Guard said Friday that the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley identified a Russian Federation Vishnya class naval vessel. The Soviet-era ships were built for intelligence gathering and are armed with weapons systems, including surface-to-air missile launchers.