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Watch How Incredibly Close Two Russian Fighter Jets Came to a U.S. Navy Destroyer

Watch How Incredibly Close Two Russian Fighter Jets Came to a U.S. Navy Destroyer

Mike Schuler
Total Views: 87
April 13, 2016

A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft makes a very low altitude pass by USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) April 12, 2016. U.S. Navy Photo

A United States Navy destroyer operating in international waters in the Baltic Sea experienced several close passes by a pair of Russian fighter jets earlier this week.

The fly-by’s occurred on April 11 and 12 aboard the USS Donald Cook during deck landing drills with an allied military helicopter, the Navy said in a statement.

Some photos and video released by the U.S. Navy show just how close the fighter jets came to the destroyer.

The U.S. Navy called the passes “aggressive”, “unsafe” and “unprofessional”.

160412-N-ZZ999-006 BALTIC SEA (April 12, 2016) Two Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft perform multiple low-level passes over USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) April 12, 2016. Donald Cook, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer forward deployed to Rota, Spain, is conducting a routine patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)
U.S. Navy Photo

“April 11-12, USS Donald Cook was operating in a professional manner in international waters conducting operations and exercises with our allies in the Baltic Sea,” said Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, Adm. Mark Ferguson. “In my judgement these maneuvers in close proximity to Donald Cook are unprofessional and unsafe.”

“We have deep concerns about the unsafe and unprofessional Russian flight maneuvers. These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries, and could result in a miscalculation or accident that could cause serious injury or death,” the U.S. Navy said in a statement. 

160412-N-ZZ999-007 BALTIC SEA (April 12, 2016) A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft makes a low altitude pass by USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) April 12, 2016. Donald Cook, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer forward deployed to Rota, Spain, is conducting a routine patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)
U.S. Navy Photo

gCaptain’s previous story on this incident is HERE

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