AS IT IS 2016-04-15 Russia Says Flyover of US Ship Was ‘Safe’

AS IT IS 2016-04-15 Russia Says Flyover¹ of US Ship Was ‘Safe’

Russian military airplanes flew over an American warship² in international waters earlier this week.

The Russian Defense³ Ministry⁴ said Thursday that its SU-24 planes were performing test flights in the Baltic Sea at the time of the flyovers⁵.

The first of the two incidents took place April 11.

Two Russian attack aircraft flew past the USS Donald Cook 20 times, according to U.S. officials. They said the aircraft came within 1,000 meters of the ship. The planes reportedly flew as low as 30 meters above the sea.

On April 12, Russian aircraft did 11 simulated attack passes above the Donald Cook. This time, the planes were joined by a Russian military helicopter that took pictures of the U.S. ship.

At the time of the incident, the ship was in waters near Kaliningrad, a Russian territory between Lithuania and Poland. The Donald Cook had just come from Poland and was sailing out to sea.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its aircraft observed all international rules when they flew over the U.S. ship. It also said the ship was in “operational proximity⁶ of the Russian navy’s Baltic fleet base.”

The Russian news agency Tass reported the Donald Cook was about 70 kilometers from the base.

Sailors on the Donald Cook tried to contact the planes by radio, a U.S. official said, but there was no response.

The official added that according to “the commanding officer [of the Donald Cook] – his assessment⁷ was that this was unsafe and unprofessional.”

The official described the Russian aircraft as “wings clean.” That means the ship’s crew did not see any weapons on the planes.

The U.S. military says a formal investigation⁸ of the incident is underway.

Words in This Story

flyover – n. when an airplane or group of airplanes passes low over someone or something

warship – n. a military ship that has many weapons and is used for fighting in wars

simulated – adj. made to look, feel or behave like something

proximity – n. the state of being near

unprofessional – adj. not having or showing the experience or skill that is expected or appropriate in a person who is trained to do a job well

1 flyover   

n.立交桥，天桥

参考例句：

• It took workers more than one year to build this flyover.建造这座立交桥破费工人一年多时间。
• All that came to his bakery should go over a flyover first.所有来他店的人都必须先经过一座立交桥。

2 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 flyovers   

n.立交桥，高架公路( flyover的名词复数 )；（单机或编队）低空飞行

参考例句：

• Flyovers have changed the face of the city. 立交桥改变了城市的面貌。 来自辞典例句
• To a limited extent one can compare Beijing to Delhi. Wide roads, flyovers andand formal atmosphere. 在某种程度上，可以把北京与德里做个比较：宽阔的马路、立交桥、城市氛围等。 来自互联网

6 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

7 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。