ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Military officials have released new video of a startling encounter between a Russian fighter jet flying near Alaska and a U.S. Air Force F-16 sent to intercept it.
In the video released Monday, the Russian plane comes from behind the camera and swoops by the U.S. jet, just feet from the aircraft.
The video release of the close encounter Sept. 23, with the U.S. pilot under the direction of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, comes after a series of Russian incursions into the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone just beyond U.S. sovereign airspace.
The interaction drew condemnation from NORAD’s top officer and one of Alaska's U.S. senators.
“The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all – not what you’d see in a professional air force,” said Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander, NORAD and U.S. Northern Command. The NORAD aircraft flew “a safe and disciplined” routine to intercept the Russian aircraft, he added.
A message sent to the Russian Embassy Monday seeking comment was not immediately returned.
The close pass of the Russian jet comes just weeks after eight Russian military planes and four of its navy vessels, including two submarines, came close to Alaska as China and Russia conducted joint drills.
None of the planes breached U.S. airspace. However, about 130 U.S. soldiers were sent along with mobile rocket launchers to Shemya Island, about 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage. They were deployed to the Aleutian island for a week before returning to their bases.
In July, Russian and Chinese bombers flew together for the first time in international airspace off Alaska, a sign of cooperation that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said raised concerns.
In 2022, a U.S. Coast Guard ship about 85 miles (137 kilometers) north of Alaska’s Kiska Island in the Bering Sea came across three Chinese and four Russian naval vessels sailing in single formation.
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, said the close pass of the Russian jet is another reason to build America’s military presence in Alaska and the Arctic.
“The reckless and unprofessional maneuvers of Russian fighter pilots — within just a few feet of our Alaska-based fighters — in Alaska’s ADIZ on September 23 put the lives of our brave Airmen at risk and underscore the escalating aggression we’re witnessing from dictators like Vladimir Putin,” Sullivan said in a statement.
In this Sept. 23, 2024, image taken from video, a U.S. Air Force F-16 operating under the direction of North American Aerospace Defense Command, conducts a routine intercept of a Russian Tu-95 aircraft in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) when NORAD said a Russian Su-35 aircraft conducts an unsafe maneuver directed at the F-16. (Department of Defense via AP)
In this Sept. 23, 2024, image taken from video, a U.S. Air Force F-16 operating under the direction of North American Aerospace Defense Command, conducts a routine intercept of a Russian Tu-95 aircraft in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) when NORAD said a Russian Su-35 aircraft conducts an unsafe maneuver directed at the F-16. (Department of Defense via AP)
In this Sept. 23, 2024, image taken from video, a U.S. Air Force F-16 operating under the direction of North American Aerospace Defense Command, conducts a routine intercept of a Russian Tu-95 aircraft in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) when NORAD said a Russian Su-35 aircraft conducts an unsafe maneuver directed at the F-16. (Department of Defense via AP)
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Democrats are hoping to maintain their dominance in New Hampshire’s congressional delegation Tuesday, while Republicans seek to regain a foothold by ousting an incumbent or picking up an open seat.
In the 1st District, which covers the eastern half of the state and includes Manchester, its largest city, Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas is running for a fourth term. He faces Republican former state Sen. Russell Prescott. The district once was quite politically volatile, with party control flipping five times in six election cycles from 2006 to 2016.
The 2nd District, which includes the cities of Nashua and Concord, hasn’t been in Republican hands since 2013. That seat is open because Democratic U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster, the longest serving member in the district’s history, is retiring after six terms. Former White House aide Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat, faces Republican activist Lily Tang Williams in the race for Kuster's seat.
Those are New Hampshire's only congressional districts. Neither of the state’s U.S. senators, both Democrats, were up for reelection.
Both Pappas and Prescott served on the governor’s Executive Council, a five-member panel that approves state contracts and judicial nominees. They overlapped during the last of Pappas’ three terms and the first of Prescott’s two terms.
Pappas, who considers himself a pragmatic voice in Washington, touted his support from women, veterans and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during the campaign. He made abortion rights a top issue, calling Prescott “radically out of step” and accusing him of distrusting women to make health care decisions.
“I don't believe that politicians should be making this decision,” he said during a debate last week. “I take my cues directly from the people of New Hampshire.”
Prescott, who spent 10 years in the state Senate, said he opposes abortion but would not support a federal ban on the procedure. He said he would focus on U.S.-Mexico border security and reducing inflation and taxes. He said Pappas has spent his time in Washington backing liberal policies that he claims have increased taxes and illegal immigration.
Prescott ran for the same congressional seat in 2022, finishing fourth in the GOP primary, but defeated six candidates this year to win the nomination.
“I'm asking you to look into my record and to my behavior and to who I am as a person,” he said in last week's debate. “And I'm asking for your trust again to work for you to make sure we solve our border problems, our economy and make sure that we have energy independence.”
Tang Williams also took two tries to win the GOP nomination. She finished third in 2022 before beating a dozen candidates in this year’s Republican primary. Goodlander defeated one opponent to win the Democratic nomination.
Goodlander, who is married to President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, grew up in Nashua and recently moved back there from Washington. She worked in the Justice Department as a top antitrust official and as counsel to Attorney General Merrick Garland before moving to the White House chief of staff’s office earlier this year.
During her campaign, she promised to protect democracy, expand abortion access and take on corporate monopolies that she says are jacking up the price of housing, health care, prescription drugs and groceries.
“We can still come together as Democrats and Republicans to tackle the challenges that unite us as Americans, and that's what I've done on the front lines of the fight against some of the biggest drivers of high costs for people across this state," she said during a debate last week.
Tang Williams is a native of China who became a U.S. citizen in 1994 and now works as a business and legal consultant. A former chair of the Colorado Libertarian Party, she unsuccessfully ran for office there before moving to New Hampshire.
Describing herself as the embodiment of the American dream, she said her priorities in Washington will be reducing inflation, improving border security and stopping what Republicans say is a “weaponization” of government against conservatives.
“Do you want somebody who truly represents the people or do you want somebody from the D.C. swamp?” she said during last week's debate. “I will represent you with pride and transparency.”
Lily Tang Williams, a Republican House of Representatives candidate in the New Hampshire Second District, smiles after completing a televised interview during a stop, Friday, Aug. 26, 2022, in Hudson, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
FILE - New Hampshire Republican 1st Congressional District Candidate Russell Prescott speaks during a debate, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, in Henniker, N.H. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)
FILE - Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., addresses supporters at an election night gathering, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
Megan, a Border Collie, waits for her owner Scot Lavoie to return from voting at VFW Post 2520, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Berlin, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
