London / Black Sea: The Ministry of Defence has accused Russian fighter aircraft of carrying out a “repeatedly dangerous” interception of an unarmed Royal Air Force surveillance plane over the Black Sea last month.
According to British defence officials, two Russian warplanes aggressively approached an RAF Rivet Joint spy aircraft during a surveillance mission in international airspace. The incident involved a Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet flying close enough to activate the aircraft’s emergency protection systems, reportedly causing its autopilot system to shut down temporarily.
The UK also alleged that a Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet conducted six separate passes directly in front of the RAF aircraft, at one point coming within just six metres of the plane’s nose.
British Defence Secretary John Healey condemned the Russian manoeuvres as “unacceptable” and praised the RAF crew for their “outstanding professionalism” in handling the dangerous situation safely.
The Ministry of Defence stated that the incident represents the most serious confrontation involving Russian aircraft since 2022, when a Russian pilot reportedly fired a missile near another RAF Rivet Joint aircraft operating over the Black Sea.
The latest encounter is expected to further increase tensions between United Kingdom and Russia amid ongoing geopolitical and military disputes linked to the war in Ukraine and NATO surveillance operations in the region.
DPCI International Desk reports that the dangerous aerial encounter over the Black Sea has raised renewed concerns among Western defence officials regarding military escalation risks and the safety of surveillance operations near conflict zones.
