NORAD has acknowledged that it dispatched three pairs of fighters from USAF and Canadian Air Force units to intercept Russian bombers that flew into North America’s Air Defense Identification Zone near Alaska. F-15s from Elemendorf AFB, Alaska and CF-18 fighter aircraft from Canada launched late on Sept. 28, but NORAD tapped the USAF F-15s to verify the identity of Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers that were part of an annual Russian Air Force exercise. According to a NORAD statement, the Russian bombers never entered US or Canadian airspace. The Russians had notified American officials about the exercise.
The Department of the Air Force has identified 50 programs that will make up the core of its contribution to the Pentagon’s joint all-domain command and control effort, branding them part of the “DAF Battle Network,” according to newly-released budget documents. The DAF Battle Network programs span multiple offices and agencies…