“Air and maritime assets under our commands conducted operations to assure the defense of the United States and Canada,” a NORTHCOM statement to ABC News said, adding that “the patrol remained in international waters and was not considered a threat.”
A U.S. official also told ABC News that the Pentagon had been tracking and expecting this patrol for several weeks, since well before the exercise began. Four U.S. destroyers and P-8 aircraft were also sent to shadow the patrol.