Looks like the Russians are at it again. But this time it wasn’t just a flyby, the Russian jet interfered with the Navy surveillance aircraft and forced it to end its mission early:
CNN – A Russian Su-27 jet performed an unsafe intercept of a US Navy surveillance plane while it was flying in international airspace over the Black Sea Monday, three defense officials told CNN.
The American pilots reported that the Russian jet came within 5 feet of the US plane, according to two of the officials.
The Russian jet’s action forced the US Navy aircraft to end its mission prematurely, one of the officials said.
US Naval Forces Europe, which oversees US operations in the region, later confirmed the incident in a statement.
“This interaction was determined to be unsafe due to the SU-27 closing to within five feet and crossing directly through the EP-3’s flight path, causing the EP-3 to fly through the SU-27’s jet wash,” Capt. Pamela Kunze, a spokesperson for US Naval Forces Europe told CNN.
Kunze said the intercept lasted for a total of two hours and 40 minutes.
“Unsafe actions increase the risk of miscalculation and midair collisions,” Kunze said, adding, “The US aircraft was operating in accordance with international law and did not provoke this Russian activity.”
So I guess we’re going to just let the Russians continue to bully us in open airspace? They’ve been doing it over and over since the Obama administration.
Can’t we like jam their instruments if they get too close to us or something?