The dangerous maneuver that a Russian Su-35 fighter has carried out with an American F-16: 'not professional'

The dangerous maneuver that a Russian Su-35 fighter has carried out with an American F-16: ‘not professional’

The North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORADhas reported a recent incident that took place near Alaska in which a russian fighter Su-35S ‘Flanker’ executed a very dangerous aerial maneuver against a F-16 United States. The latter, belonging to the 18th Combat Interceptor Squadron, was part of a pair of fighters aimed at intercepting a pair of Russian Tu-95MS Bear-H and his combat escorts.

The maneuver carried out by the Russian pilot is called ‘headbutting‘ in aerial slang, a term literally untranslatable into Spanish—a free interpretation would be like putting your butt in someone’s face—, but which can be translated as ‘attack’ or ‘frontal blow’ and consists crossing, at a very short distance, in front of the nose of another aircraft. It is very dangerous, for obvious reasons, and, in the words of NORAD, ‘nothing professional’.

‘On September 23, 2024, NORAD aircraft conducted a safe and disciplined interception of Russian military aircraft in Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The conduct of a Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional and endangered everyone, something that would not be expected from a professional air force.’explained the general Gregory Guillot in a NORAD publication on X.

NORAD has posted images and videos of the incident on social media. These were taken with a 360-degree camera placed inside the cockpit of the affected F-16. The images show the Su-35S crossing in front of the F-16, forcing the latter to perform emergency evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision.

The event took place within the ADIZ of Alaska, which is outside official US airspace. ‘An ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined extent of international airspace that requires immediate identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security‘, NORAD said in an official statement about the meeting.

‘NORAD employs a layered defense network that includes satellites, ground and airborne radars, and fighter jets to track aircraft and report appropriate actions. ‘NORAD remains prepared to employ various response options in defense of North America,’ he added.

This is not the first incident of its kind. 4 years ago, the crew of a B-52 experienced a similar one over the Black Sea, also with a Russian fighter, a Su-27. These types of ‘ramming’ maneuvers, although considered unprofessional, have been common for decades, especially during the Cold War.