Russia was accused of “aggression” on Wednesday after two jet fighters carried out practise attacks on a US destroyer, flying so low over the warship they created a “wake in the water”.

The Su-24 strike aircraft swept past the USS Donald Cook at a height of only 30ft as the vessel steamed through international waters in the Baltic.

The Russian air force is probing the defences of Nato countries on a scale that compares with the most dangerous periods of the Cold War. As well as testing the reaction times of opposing air forces, Russian jets have simulated attacks on Nato warships.