A Russian fighter jet flew dangerously close to planes deployed by the North American Aerospace Defense Command off the coast of Alaska, according to a video posted Monday by NORAD.
In the 15-second video posted to social media, a military jet can be seen flying just feet away from a NORAD aircraft as it speeds past, veering left and right. NORAD said it deployed aircraft to conduct a “safe and disciplined interception” of the Russian aircraft in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, a zone outside US sovereign airspace but an area in which aircraft are expected to that they identify themselves.
“The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional and put everyone at risk – not what you would see in a professional air force,” Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said in a statement.
The video was released a week after NORAD said this four Russian military aircraft were detected and tracked off the coast of Alaska. Those planes were spotted just days later 130 American soldiers were temporarily deployed to a remote Alaskan island with mobile missile launchers amid a spike in Russian military activity outside the western reaches of the US
The deployment coincided with eight Russian military aircraft and four naval ships. including two submarinestraveling close to Alaska as Russia and China conducted joint military exercises. None of the planes violated U.S. airspace.
NORAD previously said it detected and tracked Russian military aircraft operating off the coast of Alaska for four days on September 11, September 13, September 14 and September 15.
In July, two Russian Tu-95s and two Chinese H-6s entered the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, NORAD said. The bombers were intercepted by U.S. F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, along with Canadian CF-18s and other support aircraft, a U.S. defense official confirmed to CBS News.
The frequency with which Russian aircraft enter the zone varies annually. NORAD has said the average was six or seven per year, but this has increased recently. There were 26 cases last year and 25 so far this year.
Earlier this month, Japan said it did fighter planes used flares to warn a Russian reconnaissance plane to leave northern Japanese airspace.
