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| Russian Su-27 Fighter Jet Fire Missiles Near British Spy Aircraft |
Moscow - One of two Russian Su-27 fighter jets has fired a missile near a British spy plane patrolling over the Black Sea. The incident occurred 29 September 2022, but was only revealed by British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to members of Parliament on Thursday (20/10/2022).
According to Wallace, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) RC-135 Rivet Joint spy plane patrolled international airspace. "An unarmed RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint spy plane was flying in international airspace over the Black Sea when a Russian Su-27 fired a missile in the vicinity of the Rivet Joint out of visual range," Wallace said.
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| Drama over the Black Sea |
Wallace told Parliament that the RAF had suspended patrols following the potentially dangerous incident and expressed concern to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. According to Wallace, Russia said it was a "technical breakdown" and Britain had now resumed patrols. "We do not consider this a deliberate escalation by Russia, our analysis would agree that it is a malfunction."
"In my letter [to Shoigu] I explained that the aircraft was unarmed, in international airspace, and following a previously notified flight path. I feel it is prudent to suspend this patrol until a response is received by the Russian state." "The reply from the Russian defense minister on October 10 stated that they had carried out an investigation into the incident and stated that it was a technical malfunction," Wallace said, as quoted by The Mirror.
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| Russian Su-27 Fighter Jet Fire Missiles Near British RAF Spy Aircraft |
"They also acknowledged that the incident took place in international airspace." He explained that it was not unusual for the plane to be overshadowed, but on the 29th interaction, it turned out that one of the SU-27 planes fired an unusual missile.
The total interaction time between the Russian aircraft and the Rivet Joint aircraft was about 90 minutes and after the patrol was over, the aircraft returned to base. Wallace said it was very lucky that it didn't get any worse. Furthermore, Wallace told members of Parliament about a separate incident in which a Russian fighter jet came within 15 feet of a NATO aircraft.