Mid-air fill up

The Department of National Defence recently released some pretty cool video of Canadian Air Force fighter jets fuelling up midair.

The video, seen above, shows a CC-130T Hercules as it refuels CF-188 hornets during training exercises in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, on May 27, 2015.

U.S. and Canadian jets are currently in the north practicing intercepting foreign aircraft, as military personnel claim Russian flights bordering on North American air space are increasing.

"This is probably the most active they've been since the end of the Cold War," said Maj.-Gen. David Wheeler, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division and the officer overseeing his country's role in exercise Amalgam Dart.

U.S. Admiral William Gortney, commander of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad), said the Russian military is far better equipped than its Soviet precursor and is being used to send other countries a message.

"It's not just the frequency, it's where they're flying, (although) they're adhering to international standards," he said Thursday.

Gortney said that at the same time a Malaysian airliner was shot down over Ukraine last summer, the Russians had military aircraft flying down the English Channel and in the Arctic off Alaska and Yukon.

"They're messaging us with these flights that they're a global power — which shouldn't be a surprise, we do that too," Gortney said.

"My concern is, what is their intent if the situation escalates somewhere? How will they employ this capability?

"This is why this exercise is so important."

U.S. military figures acknowledge at least 17 Russian military aircraft approached North American airspace in 2014, including bombers, tankers and fighters. Not all records of such flights are released.

Canadian Maj.-Gen. David Wheeler says intercepting those flights is the only way the two countries can maintain air sovereignty over their northern regions.

Amalgam Dart involves 15 aircraft and 300 personnel from the U.S. and Canada flying out of bases in Alaska, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The planes include U.S. F-15 Eagles and Canadian CF-18 Hornets, as well as air tankers and surveillance aircraft.

The practice will also make use of Northern Watch, Canada's electronic surveillance system.

Here is a list of some intercepts of Russian military aircraft near U.S. or Canadian airspace in 2014 that were conducted by North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) jet fighters:

• April 2, 2014: Two Alaska-based Norad F-22 fighters intercept and visually identified two Russian Tu-95 "Bear" long-range bombers flying in the airspace west of the Alaskan coast.
• June 9, 2014: Two Alaska-based Norad F-22 fighters intercept and visually identified four Russian long-range bombers and one refuelling tanker near the Alaska. Two bombers exited the area heading west and the other two bombers headed south and were later visually identified near the northern California coast by two F-15 fighters from the Continental Norad region.
• Early August 2014: A spike in aircraft operating in and around the United States in early August. The military doesn't provide specific numbers or dates of these flights.
• Sept. 17, 2014: Two Alaska-based F-22 fighters identify and intercept two Russian IL-78 refuelling tankers, two Russian MiG-31 fighter jets and two Russian "Bear" long-range bombers west of Alaska. The group of Russian aircraft flew a loop south and returned westward toward Russia.
• Sept. 18, 2014: Two Russian "Bear" long-range bombers are intercepted and identified by two Canadian CF-18 fighters in the western reaches of the Canadian zone in the Beaufort Sea.
• Dec. 8, 2014: Two Canadian CF-18 fighters intercept and visually identify two Russian Tu-95 "Bear" long-range bombers flying in international airspace northwest of Anchorage and into the Beaufort Sea off the Canadian coast.

(Source: North American Aerospace Defence Command)

--Files from The Canadian Press