Two Russian Su-24 fighter aircraft buzzed the Royal Netherlands Navy’s De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate HNLMS Evertsen in the Baltic Sea.
The frigate is currently part of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 1 and has been operating in the Baltic Sea since joining the group last week.
According to Dutch website Marineschepen , the Russian jets were closely followed by Swedish aircraft on Quick Reaction Alert duty on the NATO Baltic air-policing mission.
The jets flew so close to the Dutch frigate that sailors on board were able to take photos with easily readable tail codes.
Officials did not specify how many “approaches” the fighter jets made, but the incident is similar to the one that involved a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Black Sea in 2016. On April 11, two Russian SU-24 jets flew within meters of the USS Donald Cook in maneuvers that were deemed as unsafe and unprofessional by U.S. officials.
Prior to USS Donald Cook, Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto received a similar treatment in 2014.