Alaska: Bone-chilling footage of a Russian fighter jet coming dangerously close to a US Air Force F-16 aircraft near Alaska was released by US military officials on Tuesday. The startling encounter took place on September 23 with the US pilot under the direction of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, after a series of Russian incursions into the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone.
In the video, the Russian plane comes from behind the camera and swoops by the US jet, just feet from the aircraft. The interaction drew condemnation from NORAD's top officer and one of Alaska's US senators. A message sent to the Russian Embassy on Monday by the Associated Press seeking comment was not immediately returned.
"The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all -- not what you'd see in a professional air force," said Gen Gregory Guillot, commander, NORAD and US Northern Command. The NORAD aircraft flew "a safe and disciplined" routine to intercept the Russian aircraft, he added.
Previous encounters between Russia, US
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," Sullivan said in a statement.
The close pass of the Russian jet comes just weeks after eight Russian military planes and four of its navy vessels, including two submarines, came close to Alaska as China and Russia conducted joint drills. However, about 130 US soldiers were sent along with mobile rocket launchers to the country's Shemya Island. 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 airspace off Alaska, a sign of cooperation that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said raised concerns. In 2022, a US Coast Guard ship about 137 kilometres north of Alaska's Kiska Island in the Bering Sea came across three Chinese and four Russian naval vessels sailing in single formation.
(with agency input)
