The US has blasted Russia after releasing footage of a near-collision between US and Russian jets close to Alaska.
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) released a clip of the close call filmed from the cockpit of the US pilot. In the video of the incident, which took place on September 23, the Russian fighter comes within feet of crashing into a US F-16.
The American F-16 had been deployed to the airspace along Alaska’s coast to track another Russian plane, a nuclear-capable TU-95 bomber, after it had entered Alaska’s air defence identification zone (Adiz).
The footage shows the dramatic moment a Russian fighter comes from behind and in between the Russian bomber and the US jet. The £67million Su-35 jet swoops by the US aircraft, just feet from the aircraft.
The US Air Force pilot was forced to quickly take evasive action to dive out of the way of the Russian fighter jet.
The close call comes amid escalating military tensions between the two sides.
Gen. Gregory Guillot, a commander of NORAD and US Northern Command, said: “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.”
US politicians also condemned Moscow. Senator Dan Sullivan, who serves on 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.
He said: “The reckless and unprofessional maneuvers 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.”
The US Coast Guard has also sounded the alarm, saying that there has been an “uptick” in Chinese and Russian navy activity around Alaska and the northern Pacific.
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 while China and Russia conducted joint drills.
None of the planes breached US airspace.
At the time, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin raised concerns about the drills as a sign of growing military cooperation between Russia and China.
In response, around 130 US soldiers were sent along with mobile rocket launchers to Shemya Island, about 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) southwest of the Alaskan city of Anchorage.
They were deployed for a week before returning to their bases.
In September, Russian propagandists with close ties to Vladimir Putin suggested on state TV that Russia could attack and “take back” Alaska.
Russia sold the territory of Alaska to the US in 1867 for just $7.2 million (£5.4m).
