Russian defense minister's plane buzzed by NATO jet over Baltic

 

A NATO F-16 fighter jet buzzed a plane carrying Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as it flew over the Baltic Sea, but was seen off by a Russian Sukhoi-27 military jet, Russia said on Wednesday, an account partly disputed by NATO.

The Baltic Sea has become an area of rising tensions between Moscow and the Western military alliance. Earlier this month, Russia scrambled a fighter jet to intercept a nuclear-capable U.S. B-52 strategic bomber it said was flying over the Baltic, in an incident that had echoes of the Cold War.

A video of Wednesday's incident broadcast on a TV channel run by the Russian Ministry of Defense showed an F-16 flying parallel with the minister's plane at a short distance. It was not clear which air force the F-16 belonged to.

A Russian Sukhoi-27 fighter jet was then seen inserting itself between the F-16 and the minister's plane before tilting its wings from side to side to show the missiles it is carrying. The F-16 was then seen leaving the area.

NATO said it had tracked three Russian aircraft over the Baltic on Wednesday, including two fighter jets which it said did not respond to air traffic control or requests to identify themselves.

"As is standard practice whenever unknown aircraft approach NATO air space, NATO and national air forces took to the sky to monitor these flights," a NATO official said.

"When NATO aircraft intercept a plane they identify it visually, maintaining a safe distance at all times. Once complete, NATO jets break away," the official said.

The alliance said it had no information about who was on board the planes.