Russian Warplanes Fly Close To U.S. Warship In Korean Peninsula But No ‘Significant Confrontation,’ Says A White House Spokesperson
According to White House spokesman Josh Earnest, the USS Ronald Raegan had a close encounter with Russian warplanes off the Korean peninsula during a joint military exercise with South Korea, but "did not result in significant confrontation," reported BBC News in their article on Thursday.
An official from the US Navy confirmed that two Russian TU-142 Bear warplanes flew a nautical mile away from the USS Ronald Raegan over the Sea of Japan along the western Pacific Ocean on Tuesday.
The CNN reported on Friday that the U.S. Navy sent four armed F/A-18 fighter jets to intercept the Russian warplanes flying close to the U.S. warship as "standard operating procedure" to guard aircrafts flying close to Navy ships.
The navy ship escorting the USS Ronald Raegan allegedly did not receive response after hailing the two Russian aircrafts.
"It is standard operating procedure for U.S. planes to escort aircraft flying in the vicinity of U.S. Navy ships," said Navy Cmdr. William J. Marks. "This type of interaction is not unprecedented. Overall I would characterize the interaction as safe."
The Navy reported that the ships escorting the USS Ronald Raegan in the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise was the guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the guided missile destroyers USS Mustin, USS Curtis Wilbur and USS Fitzgerald.
"The U.S. Navy aircraft did escort the Russian aircraft until they departed the area where the carrier, the USS Ronald Raegan, was operating," noted Earnest. "This was not a particularly threatening encounter."
This was not the first time a Russian aircraft encountered the U.S.
On July 4, U.S. fighter jets reportedly intercepted Russian aircrafts over Californian and Alaskan coasts.
"Good morning, American pilots," greeted the Russian fliers to their U.S. counterparts over the radio. "We are here to greet you on your Fourth of July Independence Day."
Also in June, a video was released by the Navy showing a Russian Su-24 jet flying past the guided missile destroyer USS Ross' right side off the Black Sea.
