United States - September 23, 2024

A Russian Su-35 fighter jet was captured on video engaging in what the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) described as an "unsafe and unprofessional" maneuver near a U.S. aircraft off the coast of Alaska. The incident, which unfolded on September 23, saw the Russian jet flying perilously close to an American F-16 during a routine intercept in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), an area monitored for security but outside of sovereign U.S. airspace.

The video, released by NORAD, captures the moment where the Su-35 executes a sharp turn, banking dangerously close to the American jet, prompting immediate condemnation from military authorities. General Gregory Guillot, Commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, expressed the incident as not reflective of professional air force conduct, highlighting the risk it posed to all involved.

Just days before this event, NORAD had tracked multiple Russian aircraft, signaling an uptick in Russian military operations near U.S. territorial waters and airspaces.

The incident has stirred a debate on the increasing assertiveness of Russian military aviation in international skies, with some seeing it as part of broader geopolitical tensions, especially in light of previous dangerous intercepts documented over regions like the Black Sea.