Russia jets ‘buzz’ US warship

A Russian military jet came within 30-feet of a US destroyer in international waters in the Baltic Sea, US officials said, but Russia on Thursday defended the manoeuvre as safe.

Russian aircraft repeatedly buzzed the USS Donald Cook this week, including an incident on Tuesday in which a Russian Su-24 flew nine metres above the ship in a “simulated attack profile,” the US military’s European Command said.

“We have deep concerns about the unsafe and unprofessional Russian flight maneuvers,” EUCOM said in a statement. “These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries and could result in a miscalculation.”

Russia countered saying it was stunned by Washington’s reaction to the fly-by incident. Su-24 planes were conducting test flights in the area and “having observed the ship, turned away in observance of all safety measures,” Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement posted on the ministry’s Facebook page. “Frankly speaking, we don’t understand such a sore reaction from our US colleagues,” the statement added.

EUCOM released video sho-wing warplanes zooming so close past the Cook that one sailor can be heard saying: “He is below the bridge wi-ng,” meaning the plane was flying lower than the highest point of the ship. A senior US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “This is more aggressive than anything we’ve seen in some time.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest called the overflights “entirely inconsistent with the professional norms of militaries operating in proximity to each other in international waters and international airspace.”

The maneuvers began on Monday while the destroyer was located about 70 nautical miles from Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave, in international waters.

Two Russian Su-24s flew 20 times past the USS Cook at a distance of less than 1,000 metres and at an altitude of about 100 feet, the official said. Then on Tuesday, a Russian Ka-27 Helix anti-submarine helicopter flew seven times around the destroyer, taking photographs as it passed.

Shortly after, two Su-24s roared toward the ship, making 11 close-range and low-altitude passes, including one that was “so low it created wake in the water,” the official said. The plane was “wings clean,” meaning it was not visibly armed, he added.

US sailors tried multiple times to hail the Russian craft on international frequencies but got no response.