US intercepts Russian warplanes off Alaska

US warplanes intercepted four Russian reconnaissance aircraft near Alaska on Saturday, US commanders said.The Russian Tu-142's came within 65 nautical miles south of Alaska's Aleutian island chain and "loitered" in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) for eight hours.An ADIZ is a perimeter within which air traffic is monitored by the air forces of one or more friendly countries so they have extra time to react to hostile action.