Cockpit footage released by the North American Aerospace Defense Command shows a Russian warplane closely buzzing by a U.S. F-16 fighter jet last week—a move U.S. officials have publicly called out as dangerous and unsafe.
“On Monday Sept. 23, NORAD aircraft flew a safe and disciplined intercept of Russian military aircraft in the Alaskan [air defense identification zone]. 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, head of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, said in a statement Monday.
The footage shows the Russian fighter maneuvering into the F-16’s path. The Russian fighter jet was one of two Su-35s that were escorting two Russian Tu-95 bombers in Alaska’s air defense identification zone, a stretch of international airspace near North America. Russian aircraft fly in this airspace often, but the closeness of this encounter, and video release, is notable.
Guillot has recently called for more domain awareness in the Arctic region, after Russian and Chinese aircraft were intercepted this summer in Alaska’s ADIZ. NORAD officials said those aircraft came as close as 200 miles from the U.S. coast.
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