Russia and China are testing American air defenses, but now the US is hitting back

On July 24, Chinese and Russian bombers flew together into the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) around Alaska, while U.S. and Canadian forces launched a peaceful intercept and escort mission. Such encounters between rival fighter jets within their respective countries' ADIZs are not uncommon, and there has never been a greater risk of things going awry. But the aerial encounter was a reminder of China's growing long-range air power and highlighted how much at stake the U.S. is at as it races to develop countermeasures. During the Cold War and in recent decades, Russian air force bombers and long-range maritime patrol aircraft frequently visited the vast air defense zones surrounding the U.S. border, especially around Alaska, which is just 55 miles from Russia at its closest point. ADIZs typically extend into international airspace, allowing aircraft from all countries to legally fly in such zones. But fighter jets entering another country's ADIZ must expect interception or escort. It's not without reason that the US Air Force has some of its best fighter jets, including Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightning stealth fighters, stationed at Alaskan airbases. Your job is to intercept Russian intruders and track them until they return home. When two Xian H-6 bombers from the People's Republic of China and two Russian Tupolev Tu-95 bombers, NATO code names "Badger" and "Bear," flew into Alaska's ADIZ on July 24, they heard loud noises. The fighters were from the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the United States Air Force and the Canadian Air Force. "The Russian and Chinese aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian airspace," NORAD said. "Russian and Chinese activity in the Alaska ADIZ is not considered a threat. NORAD continues to monitor competitor activity near North America, and intercepts of Russian aircraft are commonplace." Intercepts of Chinese aircraft are rare, but the reason is quite simple. When it comes to long-range airpower, the PLAAF is decades behind the Russian and U.S. Air Forces. But the PLAAF is quickly catching up. It is equipping its three bomber wings with new H-6K and H-6M bombers and H-6U tankers. The four-seater, twin-engine bomber has a range of up to 3,000 miles, even longer when refueled by tankers. The PLA Air Force has developed a new cruise missile to equip the new bomber. The H-6 is a further development of the 1950s Soviet Tupolev Tu-16. It doesn't have the range, payload or stealth capabilities of the U.S. Air Force's best bombers. But what the H-6 lacks in sophistication it makes up for in low cost and simplicity. The Chinese Air Force operates over 200 H-6s, while the U.S. Air Force has only 140 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Rockwell B-1 Lancer, and Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bombers combined. As China’s bomber force improves, they are venturing further into the Pacific and more frequently. It’s no secret that these long-distance flights are war games. If China follows through on its decades-long threats and finally invades Taiwan, and the U.S. were to support Taiwan, we can expect Chinese bombers to attack U.S. Navy carrier groups at sea and possibly U.S. airbases throughout the Pacific. Intercepting these bombers will be a top priority for U.S. fighter pilots defending the U.S. fleet and bases. A year ago, they might have had trouble with this. During the Cold War, US Navy pilots flying Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter jets could fire AIM-54 Phoenix missiles at large targets up to 160 miles away. But the expensive and powerful Tomcat/Phoenix combination has long been obsolete. The task of intercepting enemy bombers heading for US aircraft carriers was then tasked to Boeing F/A-18 Hornets equipped with AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. Depending on the model, the AIM-120 has a range of up to 105 kilometers. To make matters worse, the Hornet cannot match the Tomcat's incredible range and speed. This led American pilots to expect to be able to hit enemy bombers closer to their targets than was the case, for example, in the 1980s. This raised the risk that the bombers could launch their missiles before the fighters could attack. That's why retired U.S. Navy F-14 pilot Jerry Watson declared in 2020 that the Navy "can and must do better. The Navy must have both long-range fighters and long-range air-to-air missiles that can intercept threats." The Navy can do more, and it does. The fleet quickly and quietly converted its long-range ship-launched SM-6 anti-aircraft missiles to an air-launched anti-aircraft missile called the AIM-174. Frontline F/A-18 squadrons began using the new, powerful missile this spring. The Navy hasn't specified the AIM-174's range, but it could be 200 miles or even more. Either way, it will probably fly so far that it can hit larger targets farther away than the F/A-18s can detect with their radar. To detect targets at the new missile's full range, the fleet could link ships, radar planes and fighter jets into a single data network. Not to be outdone, the U.S. Air Force has developed its own long-range missile and data network. But there is no clear evidence yet that U.S. Air Force missiles are already being used on the front lines. So while China is demonstrating the firepower of its new bomber, the U.S. is hitting back with more powerful bomber-launched missiles.