Russian aircraft approach US aircraft carrier
Two Russian jets have been intercepted by US warplanes after flying near an American aircraft carrier, the US Navy says.
The encounter happened on Tuesday when the Russian Tu-142 “Bear” naval reconnaissance aircraft flew within a nautical mile (1.8 km) of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier in the Sea of Japan, a Navy official said Thursday.
The move prompted the US aircraft carrier to launch four F-18 fighter jets to escort the planes away from the ship, the Navy official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The American aircraft carrier was in international waters east of the Korean peninsula, taking part in a joint exercise with South Korean naval forces.
The Navy said a ship which was escorting the 100,000 ton aircraft carrier during the exercises radioed the Russian jets but did not get a response.
The ships involved in the exercises were identified by the Navy as the guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the guided-missile destroyers USS Mustin, USS Fitzgerald and USS Curtis Wilbur.
"It is standard operating procedure for US planes to escort aircraft flying in the vicinity of US Navy ships," US Navy Commander William J. Marks said. "This type of interaction is not unprecedented. Overall I would characterize the interaction as safe."
Such close encounters between the two country’s air forces are nothing new.
On July 4, the Russians sent planes near US States of Alaska and California, coming close to the American airspace without entering it.
In April, a Russian SU-24 fighter made twelve “close-range, low-altitude” passes near the USS Donald Cook in the western Black Sea near Romania, according to the Pentagon.
Additionally, Russian warplanes were sent to circle US Navy ships in the Black Sea in 2014. US officials described those encounters as "provocative actions."
Syria encounters
Similar encounters have also been reported in Syria, since the onset of Moscow’s air campaign in the Arab country on September 30.
Earlier in October, the Pentagon confirmed that Russian and American fighter jets came within visual range from each other in the Syrian skies.
In another encounter this month, two US F-16s had to reroute their flight paths to avoid getting engaged with Russian warplanes.
Russia and the US have been carrying out their own parallel campaigns of airstrikes against the Daesh Takfiri group and other terror organizations in the Middle Eastern country.
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