An F/A-18 Hornet escorting Russian Su-30SM fighter jets performed a dangerous maneuver, “clipping” one of the sides.

Russian tactical aviation pilots posted the video of the incident.

During a routine flight, a pair of Russian Su-30SMs met with an F/A-18 fighter jet that flew to escort them.

The Hornet performed a dangerous maneuver during the flight, flying a short distance to the closing aircraft and breaking the air link.

The purpose of this “maneuver” was probably to interfere with the operation of Russian pilots, who often fly into the airspace of neighboring countries.

By performing such maneuvers, the initiator runs a serious risk of collision at high speed. In addition, a turbulence zone appears behind the Hornet, which can destabilize the aircraft flying behind it at a short distance.

The video’s authors did not provide detailed information about the situation. However, given the involvement of a relatively rare F/A-18, it is safe to assume that the incident took place near Finnish territorial waters.

At the same time, the Russian Su-30SM aircraft most likely belongs to the naval aviation of the Russian Navy.

Last month, the Finnish Ministry of Defense reported that a Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft violated Finnish airspace near the Gulf of Finland near the city of Loviisa.

The plane stayed in Finnish airspace for about 2 minutes, flying 2.5 kilometers deep into Finnish territory.

“We are taking this suspicious territorial violation seriously, so we have launched an investigation,” Defense Minister Antti Hakkänen said at the time.

On June 14, a Russian Su-24M bomber violated Swedish airspace east of the southern tip of Gotland. This was the first incident since Sweden joined NATO.