Three Su-24 Fencer attack aircraft and one Il-38 May maritime patrol aircraft were involved in the incident
On February 10, 2017, several Russian military aircraft buzzed the U.S. Navy destroyer, USS Porter, in the Black Sea. Three Su-24 Fencer attack aircraft and an Il-38 May maritime patrol aircraft engaged in the incident, according to Captain Danny Hernandez, a spokesman for the U.S. European Command.
The three Fencers were seen swarming USS Porter in the video posted in this article, which was made public by the US Navy on March 2, 2017. Notably, at a height of 300 feet, one of the Su-24s flew within 200 yards of the Porter.
While the Russian Ministry of Defense denied that such interactions occurred, the Pentagon described the instances as “unsafe and unprofessional.”
However, incidents like this involving Russian military aircraft and U.S. Navy ships are becoming more frequent. For example, on April 11, 2016, two Su-24s made simulated attack passes so close to the American guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea that they left a wake in the water.
Photo by U.S. Navy
