Russia buzzed NATO aircraft four times in a single day
By: Stephen Losey, March 2, 2017 (Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, Fla. — NATO aircraft had four close encounters with Russian planes in separate incidents on Feb. 10, the Air Force's top general in charge of its forces in Europe said Thursday.
Gen. Tod Wolters, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa, said three of those encounters were with Russian Su-24 attack aircraft and the fourth was with an Ilyushin Il-38 maritime patrol aircraft. Speaking at the Air Force Association's Air Warfare Symposium, Wolters described the encounters as four separate incidents, and said there have not been any close contacts since then.
The trend of Russian aircraft flying dangerously close to planes flown by U.S. and other allied forces — which has raised concerns about the possibility of accidents or increased tensions between the two powers — has "plateaued" in the past six months or so, Wolters said. The Air Force continues to keep a close watch on such encounters, he added, and top officials try to talk to the Russians to get information about such encounters — sometimes fruitlessly.
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