A Russian military fighter aircraft flaunted its firing capabilities to chase off a NATO jet as it triedto escort Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's plane above the Baltic Sea, multiple Russian agencies report. <\/p>\n
A NATO F-16 neared the state liner carrying Russia's top state defense official on Wednesday, in a common maneuverfor aircraft moving near allied airspace, particularly in the high traffic area over the Baltic. Last week, NATO escorted 32 Russian military jets above the region, according to Lithuania's Ministry of Defense. <\/p>\n
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During Wednesday's approach, however, the Russian liner and the two Su-27 naval aviation fighters flanking it did not appreciate NATO's attempt to track them closely, state and non-state media reporters on board the state liner reported. <\/p>\n
One of the Su-27 jets moved its wings to present the arms it was carrying, according to the on-board correspondent of Russia's Interfax news agency, who said the NATO jet fled shortly afterwards. <\/p>\n
Shoigu was flying to the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, theon-board correspondent of state news agency Itar-Tass reports. ButNATO's attempted escort took place in international airspace, a Russian Ministry of Defense source told state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta. <\/p>\n
The incident took place after another tense encounter on Monday between allied and Russian aircraft in the Baltic, during which a U.S. reconnaissance jet reportedly came within five feet of a pursuing Russian jet. <\/p>\n
A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to CBS, confirmed the close call between the U.S. RC-135 and a Russian Su-27 fighter, calling it an unsafe intercept. Russian state news agencies accused the U.S. aircraft of turning abruptly and causing the dangerous pass. U.S. Navy Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said the U.S. aircraft did nothing to provoke this behavior. <\/p>\n
U.S. and allied forces are currently undergoing their annual, month-long defense drills in the Baltic, called Saber Strike. Russia and its nearby ally, Belarus, plan to conduct a mass drill in the region in September. NATO ally Lithuania has expressed concern that Russia will, as it has in the past, dramatically increase the number of troops participating in drills closer to the exercises date and effectively simulate out and out warfare against NATO. <\/p>\n
NATO did not immediately respond to Newsweek's request for comment. <\/p>\n
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Russian Military Plane Confronts NATO Aircraft Over Northern Europe: Reports - Newsweek<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Russian military fighter aircraft flaunted its firing capabilities to chase off a NATO jet as it triedto escort Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's plane above the Baltic Sea, multiple Russian agencies report. A NATO F-16 neared the state liner carrying Russia's top state defense official on Wednesday, in a common maneuverfor aircraft moving near allied airspace, particularly in the high traffic area over the Baltic. Last week, NATO escorted 32 Russian military jets above the region, according to Lithuania's Ministry of Defense Continue reading