Russian jet zips ‘a few feet’ past U.S. plane in ‘escalating aggression,’ senator says

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) released video of the moment when a Russian jet came dangerously close to a U.S. Air Force F-16 in the airspace off Alaska’s coast last week.

A U.S. senator from Alaska later said the Russian jet came “within just a few feet” of the American plane.

The video, released Monday, shows the Russian aircraft flying up from behind the U.S. fighter jet and buzzing by its nose. The American pilot appears to swerve out of the way in surprise.

General Gregory Guillot, the commander of NORAD, called the stunt “unsafe” and “unprofessional,” and said the pilot of the Russian Su-35 jet had “endangered all” parties involved.

The incident occurred on Sept. 23, when NORAD says it detected and tracked four Russian military aircraft in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The zone serves as a buffer between U.S. territories and Russia, though it is technically international airspace. NORAD requires aircraft travelling through the Alaska ADIZ to identify themselves and their planned course.

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The U.S. Air Force F-16 in the video was deployed by NORAD to intercept the Russian aircraft on Sept. 23, leading to the startling encounter.

NORAD states in a press release that the Russian jets “remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace.”

“This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat,” the bilateral U.S.-Canada defence force added.

This year, it appears that more Russian aircraft are entering the Alaska ADIZ than normal. A NORAD spokesperson told Global News that the number of Russian military aircraft entering the zone fluctuates annually, “but we have seen as many as 15 (incidents) in one year to as low as zero.”

There have been 11 incidents so far this year.

U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan slammed the actions of the Russian pilot in the video and called for the U.S. to increase its military presence in Alaska.

“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 Monday.

“These tactics stand in stark contrast to the skill and discipline of our Alaska-based service members who are on the front lines at all hours in defence of our entire country,” Sullivan added.

The Republican senator said the U.S. must “answer force with force” and continue investing in military assets in Alaska and the Arctic, “like the strategic Arctic port at Nome and reopening the Adak Naval Air Facility,” he suggested.

Prior to the Sept. 23 encounter, Russian military aircraft had been detected in the Alaska ADIZ four times in less than a week: on Sept. 11, Sept. 13, Sept. 14 and Sept. 15.

On Sept. 16, the U.S. Coast Guard said it tracked four Russian military ships that transited through the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone off the coast of Alaska. The two submarines, a frigate, and a tug boat were assessed to be avoiding sea ice on the Russian side of the border and were operating in accordance with international rules.

Global News has reached out to Canada’s Department of National Defence for comment. This article will be updated with the agency’s response.

Last year, a Chinese military jet intercepted a Canadian Armed Forces plane, flying within just a few metres of the plane’s wing while a Global News reporter was on board. The incident took place in international airspace off the coast of China.

Maj.-Gen. Iain Huddleston called the stunt “very aggressive” and “unsafe and unprofessional.”

“It’s a ramp-up of the aggressiveness that’s really unexpected and unnecessary in the context of the mission that we’re flying,” Huddleston said.

— With files from Global News’ Neetu Garcha