Two Russian attack jets simulated low-level attacks on a U.S. Navy warship operating in the Batlic Sea in two seperate incidents this week. The "attacks" were described by a senior American defense official as "simulated attack profiles" - a claim which Russia denies.
It's more of the same from Russia, which has often pulled stunts like this in the past. One notable incident occurred on July 4, 2015, when U.S. fighter jets intercepted Russian fighters off the coasts of California and Alaska. At the time, the Russian fliers claimed that they came close to U.S. shores to wish America a happy Fourth of July.
The most recent incidents started on April 11, both involving the USS Donald Cook after it left the Polish port of Gdynia. The first round of harassment came at the "hands" of a pair of Su-24 "Fencer" strike jets that buzzed the warship 20 times, reportedly flying so low that they were able to leave wakes in the water.
The second came the following day when two Ka-27 "Helix" helicopters flew circles around the Donald Cook while taking photographs. The Fencers from the previous day returned soon afterward, making several more close passes near the warship before leaving.
Thiis isn't the first time that the USS Donald Cook has found itself targeted by Russian fighters. In 2014, the Donald Cook was buzzed by Su-24s in the Black Sea. Fortunately for both sides, the jets weren't armed, so the situation didn't evolve into anything greater.
As with all encounters of its ilk, Russia and the U.S. have very different perceptions of what happened. For example, Russian defense ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov downplayed the incident, saying that the Su-24 pilots turned back upon seeing the ship, adding that he was surprised at America's distressed reaction over the event.
"The principle of freedom of navigation for the U.S. destroyer, which is staying in close proximity to a Russian naval base in the Baltic Sea, does at all not cancel the principle of freedom of flight for Russian aircraft," Konashenkov said.
On the other hand, Evelyn Farkas, a former Russian policy expert for the Pentagon, classified the fly-bys as undeniably "dangerous behavior."
"They're playing with fire here," she said. "I'm sure that U.S. ships and other non-Russian ships have been just as close in the past. And even if they haven't, again, they're in international waters; there's nothing provocative about what we're doing. Unlike the Russians, we actually telegraph very transparently what we're doing."
Had the situation been hostile, the Donald Cook would have repelled the attack by the Cold War-era Su-24s. While the jets do carry Kh-35 "Kluv" anti-ship missiles, the destroyer is armed with Evolved Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missiles and Phalanx CIWS close-in weapon systems, both of which could have been brought to bear on the Russian aircraft or any missiles in its possession.
The warship's ability to shoot down the Russian jets is besides the point. The issue at hand is Russia's insistence on flexing its military might by harassing other countries with its fighters. As evidenced by Turkey shooting down a Su-24 in November 2015, its clear that some countries aren't willing to take the harassment anymore, and its only a matter of time before a country with serious firepower decides to retaliate.
Check out a video of the Su-24s below:
