Aerial encounters involving Russian and NATO warplanes saw a significant uptick in the wake of the 2014 Ukrainian crisis, as the Western alliance concentrated more and more forces near Russia’s western borders and ramped up reconnaissance and bombing run practice off the country’s Baltic and Black Sea coasts.
A YouTube user describing himself as a former Russian Air Force fighter pilot has uploaded a video showing a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet accompanying a Tu-95MS strategic bomber facing off with a NATO F-16.
The video, filmed from inside the MiG’s cockpit, shows the pilot approaching the NATO jet, waving and gesturing the thumbs up sign, carefully wedging his plane between the F-16 and the Tu-95MS he’s escorting. The NATO plane is then seen starting to veer to the right, away from the pair of Russian planes.
The user gives no indication about when or where the incident took place.
