Two Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft fly over the USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) April 12, 2016. US Navy photo
The first buzzing involved two Russian Su-24 jet fighters followed by a single Su-24 and, in a third incident, an IL-38 transport aircraft.
An April 2014 photo of a Russian Ilyushin Il-38 Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) aircraft. Photo: USNI
Russian strategic bomber forces recently completed a major nuclear exercise that the U.S. military worried would involve provocative bomber flights into U.S. air defense zones.
Instead, the only Russian bomber incursion during the exercise involved two Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers that flew close to Japan on Jan. 24.
This event follows a similar three incidents in which Russian aircraft made low passes on Feb. 10 while USS Porter (DDG-78) was operating in international waters in the Black Sea, as reported by USNI News. The flybys were much less provocative than when USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) was buzzed by a pair of Fencers in the Baltic Sea last April.
According to a U.S. official that was quoted by CBS, “They were so close they created wakes in the water.”
A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft makes a low altitude pass by the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) April 12, 2016. US Navy Photo
“One of the passes, which occurred while the allied helicopter was refueling on the deck of Donald Cook, was deemed unsafe by the ship’s commanding officer. As a safety precaution, flight operations were suspended until the SU-24s departed the
area.”
The following day, a pair of KA27 Kamov Helix helicopters orbited the ship taking photos in what officials called a “simulated attack profile” in several press reports.
A Russian Kamov KA-27 HELIX flies low-level passes near the.Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) while.the ship was operating in international waters Apr. 12, 2016. Photo: US Navy
Putin continues playing hard ball against his good friends in his back yard. Is the President willing to step up to the plate against Putin? Putin certainly is willing to pitch, but is the President willing to catch? He better keep his football handy, that is if he can find it…...
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