Russian fighter jet passes near US warship

A Russian fighter jet was engaged in "provocative action" when it repeatedly passed near a US Navy guided missile destroyer for over 90 minutes in the international waters of the Black Sea off the coast of Romania, the Pentagon claimed today.
The crew aboard the Donald Cook made several attempts to radio the Russian warplane asking the pilot what were his intentions and sending warnings to remain at a safe distance, but the Russian pilot never responded.
The incident is reported to have occurred yesterday and the US is expected to lodge a protest with Russia against what the Pentagon alleged as the provocative and unprofessional behaviour of Russian fighter jets.

"On April 12, a Russian S24 made numerous close range, low altitude passes in the vicinity of USS Donald Cook, while it was conducting operations in the international waters in the Western Black Sea. The aircraft did not respond to multiple queries and warnings from USS Donald Cook. It ended without any accident about approximately in 90 minutes," Pentagon spokesman Col Steve Warren told reporters.
"It is provocative and unprofessional. Russian action is inconsistent with the international protocol, and various agreements on professional interactions between our militaries," the Pentagon spokesperson said, adding that at no point of time the American naval ship was in danger. The Russian ships were unarmed, he noted.

While the Russian fighter jet did not fly over the USS Donald Cook, it flew at a very low altitude from virtual sea level to several thousand feet.

"The Russian plane made a total of 12 passes. It did not overfly the deck of the Donald Cook," he said, adding that the Russian fighter jet was not exactly circling over the US ship.
There was another Russian fighter jet (S-24) which was at a very high altitude.
"There were a total of two aircraft. Only one (of them) made these lower-level passes. The second one remained at much higher level passes.

Warren said at the time of the incident, Donald Cook was in international waters, East of Romania.
Responding to questions, the Pentagon spokesperson said USS Donald Cook remains prepared to defend itself and made several attempts to contact this Russian plane. So far no protest has been lodged so far, but the issue would be taken up by the State Department, he said.
Secretary of State John Kerry, is scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Europe later this week.
There has been no communication on this issue between the militaries of the two countries, he added.