The Drive:

A Russian Su-24 Fencer combat jet flew low over the destroyer USS Donald Cook, while missile-toting Su-30SM Flanker multirole fighters and mobile coastal defense missile systems undertook high-profile drills, in the latest series of encounters between the U.S. Navy and the Russian military in the Black Sea. All this comes amid what is reportedly the largest U.S. Navy deployment to the region in years, involving two Arleigh Burke class destroyers — the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) and the USS Porter (DDG-78) — as well as a replenishment tanker to support them.

The incident involving the Su-24 and the USS Donald Cook took place in international waters yesterday, January 31, 2021, according to the U.S. Navy, whose 6th Fleet posted a video on Twitter.

It was not immediately clear whether the Su-24 that overflew the USS Donald Cook was a Su-24M strike aircraft — which can be armed with anti-ship missiles and other guided munitions — or an unarmed Su-24MR reconnaissance variant, which are regularly used to keep tabs on other countries’ naval assets in the Black Sea and elsewhere.

The latest incident is not the first time that Russian aircraft have buzzed an American destroyer in the Black Sea in recent years. For example, the same thing happened to the USS Ross in May 2015. On that occasion, Russian media said the warship was forced to leave Russian waters, while the U.S. Navy published a video of the encounter, which again involved a low pass by a Russian Navy Su-24…

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