Pete Hegseth’s jet has made an emergency landing after a high-stakes NATO summit on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell posted on X Wednesday afternoon, saying the Secretary of War’s plane had to make an unscheduled landing because of a crack in the plane’s windshield.
‘The plane landed based on standard procedures and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe,’ Parnell said.
The plane, a Boeing C-32A, was leaving Belgium but during flight an emergency was declared while flying over the Atlantic, which made them return to the United Kingdom.
Hegseth issued his strongest statement to date on Wednesday at the meeting of European Defense leaders at NATO headquarters, warning that the United States will hold Russia accountable if it fails to pursue an end to the war in Ukraine—a clear indication of the administration’s growing backing of Kyiv.
Hegseth sent a clear message to Putin, stating, ‘If there is no path to peace in the short term… the US War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do.’
‘The US remains ‘clear-eyed about the fact that the most effective deterrents to Russian aggression are number one: a lethal, capable and European-led NATO, and number two: a combat credible Ukrainian military,’ Hegseth said.
His latest remarks contrast sharply with his stance during his February visit to NATO headquarters, where he suggested that US attention would pivot away from Europe in favor of more urgent challenges elsewhere in the world.
According to Flight Radar, the plane, a Boeing C-32A, was leaving Belgium but during flight an emergency was declared while flying over the Atlantic, which made them return to the United Kingdom
Parnell posted on X Wednesday afternoon, saying the Secretary of War’s plane had to make an unscheduled landing because of a crack in the plane’s windshield
Trump’s unexpected August sit-down with Putin in Alaska raised alarm in Kyiv and throughout Europe, as many feared the meeting signaled a willingness to entertain Moscow’s perspective on the war.
This comes after a string of Russian interference issues on planes, with several recent incidents pointing to a pattern of GPS signal disruption.
In late September, a plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen encountered GPS jamming while flying over Bulgaria, an act widely suspected to be the result of Russian electronic warfare. Just weeks later, a Spanish military jet transporting Defense Minister Margarita Robles experienced similar interference near Russia’s Kaliningrad region en route to Lithuania. In another case, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps’ aircraft faced GPS jamming during its return flight from Poland to Britain.
Daily Mail reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
