Russian fighter jet flies within feet of US F-16 near Alaska

The U.S. military is slamming Russia for an “unsafe” encounter in the skies off the coast of Alaska after footage released Monday shows a Kremlin fighter jet cutting off an Air Force F-16.

The incident, which took place Sept. 23, involved a Russian Su-35 fighter flying in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in international airspace where the F-16 was sent to intercept it.

The F-16, which was assigned to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), was initially shadowing a different Russian aircraft before the Su-35 sharply cut in front of it, coming within feet of the American fighter jet. 

In the video, the F-16 pilot can be heard exclaiming in surprise as the Russia fighter jumps in front of them. 

“NORAD aircraft flew a safe and disciplined intercept of Russian Military Aircraft in the Alaska ADIZ,” NORAD head Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot said in a statement posted to X. “The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all – not what you’d see in a professional air force.”  

The incident comes amid a series of Russian pushes into the Alaskan ADIZ, entering the zone four times in September, according to NORAD. 

The Sept. 23 intercept involved four Russian aircraft, the command said at the time.

Usually, the intercepts are carried out in a safe and professional manner, but occasionally Russian military aircraft engage in aggressive tactics, as they did in March 2023 when a Russian Su-27 clipped a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone, forcing it to crash into the Black Sea.

Then in Syria in June 2023, a Russian aircraft came close to U.S. fighters, surveillance aircraft and drones. And in July 2023, a Kremlin fighter jet damaged a U.S. MQ-9 drone when it shot flares at it as they passed by. 

The latest incident near Alaska comes weeks after Russia and China conducted joint military drills in the air and waters west of the state. The U.S. tracked eight Russian military planes and four navy vessels including two submarines during those exercises. 

The uptick in activity prompted the U.S. military to deploy about 130 troops and mobile rocket launchers to Shemya Island, in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, for roughly a week. 

In a Monday statement, Senate Armed Services Committee member Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said the “reckless and unprofessional” maneuver of the Russian jet is more reason to further build U.S. military presence in Alaska and the Arctic.

Such incidents “put the lives of our brave Airmen at risk and underscore the escalating aggression we’re witnessing from dictators like [Russian President] Vladimir Putin,” Sullivan said.

“We need to answer force with force and continue building up America’s military presence in Alaska and the Arctic with more infrastructure, . . . and more military assets.”