Watch Russian fighter jet fly dangerously close to US F-16

Russian military aircraft’s ‘unsafe and unprofessional’ conduct in Alaska

On Sept. 23, 2024, a U.S. Air Force F-16 operating under the direction of North American Aerospace Defense Command, was conducting a routine intercept of a Russian Tu-95 aircraft in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) when a Russian Su-35 aircraft conducted an unsafe maneuver directed at the F-16. Video: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service via Storyful

Startling video shows the moment a Russian jet flew just feet away from a U.S. Air Force F-16.

The dangerously close encounter happened Sept. 23 near Alaskan airspace as the American pilot was directed to intercept the Russian Su-35.

"The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all – not what you’d see in a professional air force," said Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander, NORAD and U.S. Northern Command. The NORAD aircraft flew "a safe and disciplined" routine to intercept the Russian aircraft, he added.

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican member of the U.S. 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.

"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 a statement.

Russian military activity increase

The flight was the latest in a series of Russian incursions into the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) just beyond U.S. sovereign airspace.

In September, eight Russian military planes and four navy vessels, including two submarines, came close to Alaska as China and Russia conducted joint drills.

None of the planes breached U.S. airspace. However, about 130 U.S. soldiers were sent along with mobile rocket launchers to Shemya Island, about 1,200 miles southwest of Anchorage. They were deployed to the Aleutian island for a week before returning to their bases.

In July, Russian and Chinese bombers flew together for the first time in international airspace off Alaska, a sign of cooperation that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said raised concerns.

In 2022, a U.S. Coast Guard ship about 85 miles (137 kilometers) north of Alaska’s Kiska Island in the Bering Sea came across three Chinese and four Russian naval vessels sailing in single formation.

A message sent by The Associated Press to the Russian Embassy Monday seeking comment was not immediately returned.