US military officials on Monday released a video of a close encounter between a Russian fighter jet and a US Air Force F-16 near Alaska.
This incident occurred on September 23, when the Russian aircraft approached from behind and passed very close to the US jet, as shown in the video.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), which directed the US pilot, shared the video of the incident on the social media platform X.
“On Sept. 23, 2024, NORAD aircraft flew a safe and disciplined intercept of Russian military aircraft in the Alaska ADIZ,” NORAD posted on X.
The encounter took place after several Russian planes entered the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, which lies just outside US sovereign airspace.
General Gregory Guillot, commander of NORAD and US Northern Command, criticized the Russian pilot’s actions. “The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered everyone — not what you’d expect from a professional air force,” Guillot said. He added that the NORAD aircraft followed a “safe and disciplined” interception procedure.
The close pass occurred a few weeks after Russian military planes and navy vessels, including submarines, approached Alaska during joint drills with China. Although none of the aircraft entered US airspace, approximately 130 US soldiers were temporarily stationed on Shemya Island, about 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage, before returning to their bases.
US senator Dan Sullivan, a member of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, said the recent incident highlights the need to strengthen America’s military presence in Alaska and the Arctic. “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,” Sullivan said.
In July, Russian and Chinese bombers flew together in international airspace near Alaska for the first time, signaling increased cooperation between the two countries. In 2022, a US Coast Guard ship encountered a formation of Chinese and Russian naval vessels in the Bering Sea, about 85 miles north of Alaska’s Kiska Island.