Dramatic moment Belgian F-16 fighters intercept armed Russian jets buzzing a US destroyer in the Baltic Sea
- Belgian Air Force F-16s intercepted armed Russian Federation Air Force fighters maneuvering in international air space overflying the USS Donald Cook
- The US Navy 6th Fleet destroyer was operating in the Baltic Sea off the Lithuanian coast, according to the Allied Air Command
- Footage of Friday’s encounter filmed from the cockpit and through a pilot’s ‘Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System’ was released by the Belgians
- The Belgian F-16s shadowed Russian Su-24, Su-27 and Su-30SM fighters that came armed with air-to-surface missiles
Belgian Air Force F-16s intercepted armed Russian Federation Air Force fighters maneuvering in international air space overflying the USS Donald Cook.
The US Navy 6th Fleet destroyer was operating in the Baltic Sea off the Lithuanian coast last week, according to the Allied Air Command.
Video of Friday’s encounter filmed from the cockpit and through a pilot’s ‘Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System’ was released by the Belgians.
Belgian F-16s intercepted Russian fighter doing low flybys over the USS Donald Cook (pictured) last week. The US Navy 6th Fleet destroyer was operating in the Baltic Sea off the Lithuanian coast last week, according to the Allied Air Command
Video of Friday’s encounter was filmed from the cockpit and through a pilot’s ‘Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System’ (pictured)
Belgian Air Force footage taken of the intercept shows the Russian jets (pictured)
A Belgian F-16 is seen shadowing Russian Su-24, Su-27 and Su-30SM fighters (pictured)
One of the Russian jets is pictured on a low fly by over the USS Donald Cook
The Belgian footage includes a closer look at one of the Russian fighters
One of the Belgian F-16s that engaged the Russians is pictured
The footage shows the F-16s shadowing Russian Su-24, Su-27 and Su-30SM fighters.
Previously, the Russians have conducted low flybys with unarmed jets, the Aviationist reports.
However, this time Russian aircraft appeared to be armed with air-to-surface missiles.
Russian jets flying low over US Navy warships, and vice versa, are typically uneventful.
On May 25, 1968, a Soviet Tu-16 Badger-F crashed into the sea close to the USS Essex in the Norwegian sea after a few flybys.
More recently, a Russian fighter jet on Sunday intercepted an American Navy spy plane in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea for the second time in four days, the United States military said.
The Belegian Air Force tweeted details and images of its F-16s intercepting the Russians last week. Russian jets flying low over US Navy warships, and vice versa, are typically uneventful
The US Navy released a brief, seven-second video clip showing a Russian SU-35 fighter plane fly within 25 feet in front of a P-8A Poseidon aircraft – a maneuver that the Pentagon said was ‘unsafe and unprofessional.’
The American military said that the Russian pilot twice intercepted the US Navy aircraft ‘over a period of 100 minutes.’
‘The first intercept was deemed safe and professional,’ according to a statement from the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet.