Video circulating online on 9 July appears to show a Russian Su-35 fighter executing a close, high-speed pass in front of a U.S. F-16 during an intercept mission over international waters off Alaska. The maneuver, described by observers as dangerously close, forced the American pilot to react abruptly to maintain safe separation. The encounter follows a pattern of increasingly assertive Russian activity against U.S. assets. In orbit, analysts say Russia’s Cosmos 2558 satellite has been tailing the American reconnaissance satellite USA-326 at a distance of about 30 miles since 2024, underscoring Moscow’s willingness to test U.S. defenses in multiple domains. Washington and Moscow have not issued official statements on the latest aerial incident. If confirmed, the episode would add to a string of confrontations in recent years that raise the risk of miscalculation between the two nuclear-armed powers.