A Russian plane came dangerously close to an American fighter jet sent to intercept them off the coast of Alaska.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked four Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on September 23.
NORAD sent four F-16 fighters and a reconnaissance plane to escort the Russian formation through the area, a spokesman said. Alaska Public Media.
Video of the interaction shows a Russian plane flying past an American plane, tilting rapidly left and right.
“The conduct of a Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional and endangered everyone – not what you would see in a professional air force,” said Gen. Gregory Guillot.
NORAD detected and tracked four Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone on September 23.
Video of the interaction shows a Russian plane flying past an American plane, tilting rapidly left and right.
The Russian formation included two Russian Tu-95 Bear bombers and two Su-35 Flanker fighter jets.
NORAD said the Russian plane remained in international airspace and did not enter sovereign US or Canadian airspace.
“This Russian activity in Alaska’s ADIZ occurs regularly and is not considered a threat,” the agency said.
A surge of Russian military planes and ships near U.S. territory led the United States to relocate 130 troops along with mobile rocket launchers to a desolate island in Alaska in early September.
Eight Russian military aircraft and four Navy ships, including two submarines, approached the “final frontier” last week as Russia and China held joint military exercises, which began on September 10.
A Pentagon spokesman said there was no cause for alarm as the planes have not yet violated US airspace.
“This is not the first time we’ve seen Russians and Chinese flying nearby and that’s something we’re obviously keeping a close eye on,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a news conference.
An increase in Russian military planes and ships near US territory led the US to relocate 130 soldiers to Alaska
U.S. Army soldiers maneuver through the thick terrain of Shemya Island, Alaska, as part of a force projection operation to the remote island in the North Pacific Ocean Sept. 13.
“It is also something we are willing to respond to,” he added.
NORAD tracked and detected Russian military aircraft operating off Alaska over a four-day span with two aircraft each day beginning on 9/11.
The planes operated in Alaska’s ADIZ, an area beyond U.S. sovereign airspace, but within which the United States expects the planes to identify themselves.
The number of these invasions has fluctuated annually, NORAD reports. The average was six to seven interceptions a year, although last year 26 Russian planes entered the Alaska area and so far this year there have been 25.
In such encounters it is common for the US military to provide photographs of Russian fighter jets escorted by US or Canadian aircraft.