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A new video has emerged from the day in February when Russian Su-24 attack aircraft, along with an Ilyushin Il-38 maritime patrol aircraft, harassed the destroyer Porter.
Russian jets buzzed the Porter on three separate occasions on Feb. 10 as the destroyer conducted exercises with NATO forces in the Black Sea, actions which the ship called unsafe and unprofessional, per a Reuters report.
According to Gen. Tod Wolters, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa, Russian aircraft conducted separate encounters with both U.S. and NATO aircraft, in addition to the encounter with the Porter.
The Porter, which is forward deployed to Rota, Spain, as part of a team of four destroyers providing Europe with ballistic missile defense, vacated the region soon after training wrapped up.
Provocation by Russian forces is nothing new. In April, Russian aircraft flew within 30 feet of the destroyer Donald Cook, prompting the U.S. to lodge a formal complaint.