The West’s simmering standoff with Russia has prompted the Pentagon to reach for a new weapon: YouTube.

Defense officials have concluded it’s no longer enough to lodge formal complaints when Russian bombers probe U.S. air defenses off Alaska, fighters barrel-roll around American reconnaissance aircraft over Eastern Europe, or attack jets buzz American warships at sea — especially since Russia’s state-funded media commonly claims the moves are justified.


So in recent weeks the U.S. military, which tends to be judicious about releasing video of military operations in the air or at sea, has taken to social media in an effort to shape international public opinion.

The Navy, with the encouragement of leaders in Washington, posted a 42 second video of one encounter reminiscent of the Cold War to show the world exactly what happened – and what didn’t.

“Coming starboard side!” exclaims a crew member aboard the Navy destroyer USS Ross, cruising in the Black Sea. A sailor’s camera picks up a black speck on the overcast horizon. Within a few moments, it grows into the unmistakable beak-nosed, single-tail silhouette of a Su-24 Fencer, a classic Soviet-era attack jet — which screams past the ship at low altitude.

The U.S. strategy seems to be paying off: Internet users have watched the scene unfold nearly 3.5 million times.

Pentagon officials say they want the world to know that the U.S. military follows the internationally accepted “rules of the road” and won’t back down from exercising the freedom of navigation.

“Ross continued on her mission after observing the aircraft return to base,” a Navy announcement said. “At no time did Ross act aggressively nor did she deviate from her planned operations. The conduct of her crew has been and continues to be professional.”

Russia’s government-backed RT television network told a different story.

“The crew of the ship acted provocatively and aggressively, which concerned the operators of monitoring stations and ships of the Black Sea Fleet. The crew of the Su-24 “demonstrated to the American crew readiness to harshly prevent a violation of the frontier and to defend the interests of the country.”

RT described how the Ross “turned around and left for neutral waters,” quoting a “military source” who concluded the Navy learned its lesson after a similar encounter last year between an Su-24 and the Ross’ sister ship, the USS Donald Cook. In that incident, the Russians claim, the Russian warplane used an advanced electronic countermeasure weapon to “black out” the ship’s radar and other electronic systems. No way, the U.S. Navy says.

These disputes epitomize the state of relations between Russia and the West as the U.S. and Europe try to isolate Moscow after its military aggression in Ukraine.

Washington has grown to accept Russia’s newly aggressive military posture as the new norm. Military officials say encounters with Russian aircraft were on the increase even before Russian troops invaded Crimea and pushed into Eastern Ukraine. And, according to the U.S. Northern Command, they are now more frequent now than at any time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Last month, on the same day as the Russian flyover of the Ross, two Russian Su-27 Flankers buzzed an American reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea — one of which did so in “in an unsafe manner,” coming within about 10 feet. Since then, Su-24s have buzzed the Navy’s amphibious transport USS San Antonio and U.S. and Russian aircraft have come into contact on an almost daily basis, defense officials say.

All told, most of today’s examples are “pretty benign” compared to the old days, according to retired Vice Adm. Doug Crowder, a former 7th Fleet commander and deputy chief of naval operations who now works as a security consultant. The Su-24s that uzzed the Ross were unarmed and kept to a safe distance and altitude, he observed.

That’s nothing like back in 1988, when Crowder was the executive officer of the cruiser USS Yorktown and a Soviet frigate slammed into it in the Black Sea. The Russian ship’s anchor raked a gash down the side of the American warship, causing millions of dollars in damage and a spike in international tensions; that incident also was captured on video and now also lives on YouTube.

Still, international groups warn that the new demonstrations of resolve around the world could put innocent people at risk and increase the chances of a confrontation.

A Russian fighter jet buzzed the USS Ross in the Black Sea earlier this month. The Pentagon, with the encouragement of leaders in Washington, posted the video on YouTube to highlight the renewed Russian belligerence reminiscent of the Cold War. | POLITICO screen grab

Last year the European Leadership Network urged both Russia and NATO to “exercise political and military restraint,” especially in the congested airspace of northern Europe. The network documented some 40 incidents it said were dangerous, including one in which an airliner nearly collided with a Russian surveillance aircraft that was not transmitting the standard identification signals.

At the Pentagon, defense officials acknowledge that U.S. units also sometimes get into close contact with other militaries, as when the Navy sent a Boeing-built P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft to take a look at the artificial islands that China is building in the South China Sea. The difference, for Washington, is that the American military units always keep to international waters or airspace, to make a point about the importance of access to the commons, officials say.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter scolded China about its artificial islands and territorial claims during his recent visit to Singapore. He also took a highly publicized flight over the Strait of Malacca to highlight what he called the importance of open international shipping lanes.

The confrontations with both Chinese and Russian units have been all over the map, defense officials say. Many are “professional.” They have also included a near-collision between a Chinese warship and the cruiser USS Cowpens, as well as a brazen barrel roll by a Chinese fighter around a patrolling P-8. When a Russian Su-27 Flanker buzzed an Air Force RC-135U Combat Sent reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea in April, a Pentagon spokesman slammed the pilot for “sloppy airmanship.”

It’s all an unsubtle effort at communicating a simple message to the American crews.

“They’re making sure that we know that they’re watching us,” Crowder said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “relies on threats and coercion because he believes they work,” added Jorge Benitez, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center. Russia, Benitez said, wants to “coerce neighbors to follow Putin’s wishes and intimidate others such as the U.S. and Western Europeans to respect Russia’s sphere of influence.”

But even though it may get attention in the short term, Benitez said, Putin’s strategy — and his muscular military posture —can’t go on forever.

“The more Putin uses military units to try to bully the West, the more he galvanizes Western opposition to his tactics and ultimate ambitions,” Benitez said.

The success of the video of the Russian fly-by of the USS Ross last month has led the Pentagon to evaluate whether to share more information of the incidents – or perhaps, even record and distribute video of every encounter. A decision on that has not yet been reached.

“It’s always a judgement call,” said Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren. “Putting out this video bolstered our case.”