THIS is the moment an idiot Russian pilot steers his fighter jet to within feet of a US plane tailing a nuke bomber in a reckless near-miss.
Chilling footage released by the US shows the Russian warplane seeking to chase away the F-16 which was intercepting one of Vladimir Putin’s Tu-96MS nuclear bombers as it flew over neutral waters close to Alaska.
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The Su-35 comes from behind the camera and swoops past the U.S. jet, just feet from the aircraft.
Any mid-air incident between the Russian and US warplanes could have triggered untold consequences amid repeated claims from Moscow that the West is pushing Putin towards a nuclear Third World War.
Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, said: “The conduct of one Russian Su-35 was unsafe, unprofessional, and endangered all – not what you’d see in a professional air force.”
The US plane has flown “a safe and disciplined” routine to intercept the Russian aircraft, he said.
But in Russia the reckless pilot is being hailed a hero, with calls to Putin’s military to honour the airman, and acknowledge use of such tactics.
There are calls for the so-far unnamed airman to be decorated for daredevil flying that was sharply rebuked by North American Aerospace Defense Command, known as NORAD.
Russia published a video of the mission but did not show the controversial buzzing of the F-16.
Influential pro-war Fighterbomber Telegram channel declared: “Such actions.
“Such a pilot. This is how it should be done. This is how it should be taught.
“This is how they should be encouraged and rewarded.”
The channel is believed to be run by retired air force pilot.
Another military channel Voevoda Speaks also called for an honour for the pilot, hailing him a “real, normal fighter hooligan”.
The Tu-95MS ‘Bear’ turboprops are an integral part of Russia’s nuclear armoury, but the planes have been also used to launch devastating conventional missile strikes causing large-scale destruction in Ukraine.
The Soviet-era Tu-95s first flew some 70 years ago but remain a mainstay of the Russian nuclear force.
The super noisy aircraft are the world’s only propeller-powered strategic bombers.
It comes after shocking footage captured the horror moment Vlad’s army bombs its own soldiers with a kamikaze drone while they surrender to Ukraine.
Kremlin troops advanced into territory held by Ukraine on the Donetsk frontline, but opted to wave the white flag after being cornered.
Vision shows Russian soldiers coming out from cover holding their hands up, before lying face down on the ground.
A kamikaze drone buzzes in and begins dropping bombs in a distressing turn, with some of the group hit and killed by the strikes.
A Ukrainian drone commander reportedly told the pilot of the UAV, which captured the footage, “don’t throw, don’t throw” in an apparent instruction not to drop bombs on them.
The drone then started directing the Russian troops towards positions of Kyiv’s 33rd separate mechanised brigade.
But a Russian drone comes in and appears to start bombing the Moscow soldiers in a horror turn.
One soldier is seen running for his life as he escapes the suspected ambush from his own country.
Of the seven who surrendered, he was not the only one to flee, according to the Ukrainian brigade.
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