Military officials have released new video of a startling encounter between a Russian fighter jet flying near Alaska and a US Air Force F-16 sent to intercept it.
In the video released on Monday, the Russian plane comes from behind the camera and swoops by just feet from the US jet.
The video release of the close encounter on September 23, with the US pilot under the direction of the North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad), came after a series of Russian incursions into the Alaska Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) just beyond US sovereign air space.
“On Sept 23, 2024, NORAD aircraft flew a safe and disciplined intercept of Russian Military Aircraft in the Alaska ADIZ. The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all – not what you’d see in a professional air force.” – Gen. Gregory Guillot pic.twitter.com/gXZj3Ndkag
— North American Aerospace Defense Command (@NORADCommand) September 30, 2024
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The interaction drew condemnation from Norad’s top officer and one of Alaska’s US senators.
“The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional and endangered all – not what you’d see in a professional air force,” said General Gregory Guillot, commander of Norad and US Northern Command.
The Norad aircraft flew “a safe and disciplined” routine to intercept the Russian aircraft, he added.
A message was sent to the Russian Embassy on Monday seeking comment.
The close pass of the Russian jet came just weeks after eight Russian military planes and four navy vessels, including two submarines, came close to Alaska as China and Russia conducted joint drills.
None of the planes breached US air space, but about 130 US soldiers were sent along with mobile rocket launchers to Shemya Island, about 1,200 miles south west of Anchorage.
They were deployed to the Aleutian island for a week before returning to their bases.
In July, Russian and Chinese bombers flew together for the first time in international air space off Alaska, a sign of co-operation that US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said raised concerns.
In 2022, a US Coast Guard ship about 85 miles north of Alaska’s Kiska Island in the Bering Sea came across three Chinese and four Russian naval vessels sailing in formation.
US senator Dan Sullivan, a Republican member of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, said the close pass of the Russian jet is another reason to build America’s military presence in Alaska and the Arctic.
“The reckless and unprofessional manoeuvres of Russian fighter pilots — within just a few feet of our Alaska-based fighters — in Alaska’s ADIZ on September 23 put the lives of our brave airmen at risk and underscore the escalating aggression we’re witnessing from dictators like Vladimir Putin,” Mr Sullivan said in a statement.
