Multiple Russian military planes buzzed the USS Porter destroyer last week while the ship was conducting routine tests in the Black Sea, and some of them were armed.
Three of the planes were Su-24 jets, and a fourth was a Russian maritime patrol plane that came unusually close to the USS Porter on the same day, Reuters reported.
The Pentagon is calling the situation "unsafe and unprofessional" on the part of Russia, Reuters said.
According to U.S. officials, the four Russian aircrafts were flying without their transponders activated when they buzzed the USS Porter. Transponders transmit radio signals, making it easier for an aircraft to be identified.
“Several incidents by multiple Russian aircraft in the Black Sea near the destroyer USS Porter (DDG78) on Feb. 10 were assessed by the ship’s commanding officer as unsafe and unprofessional,” U.S. Defense Department spokeswoman Michelle Baldanza said in a statement. “Such incidents are concerning because they can result in accident or miscalculation.”
Despite Baldanza’s statement, the Russian Defense Ministry is denying the allegations.
“There were no incidents related to a flyby of Russian military aircraft near the USS Porter destroyer in the Black Sea on Feb. 10,” Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Tuesday, Reuters reported. “All of our flights were conducted and are being conducted over the neutral waters of the Black Sea in accordance with international rules and safety requirements.”
“If the U.S. destroyer, as the Pentagon official claims, conducted a ‘regular’ patrol mission in the vicinity of Russia, tens of thousands miles away from their own shores, it is strange to be surprised about the no less regular flights of our aircraft over the Black Sea,” Konashenkov added, UPI reported.