Navy: Russian Jet Flies Dangerously Close to US Surveillance Plane

A U.S. military aircraft was put at risk during flight operations over the Black Sea when a Russian fighter jet made two unsafe passes, Navy officials said in a statement, Stars and Stripes reported on Monday.

A Navy EP-3 surveillance aircraft was operating over international airspace when the Russian Su-27 flew at high speed directly in front of it, “which put our pilots and crew at risk,” according to a Naval Forces Europe-Africa statement. “The intercepting Su-27 made an additional pass, closing with the EP-3 and applying its afterburner while conducting a banking turn away.”

The entire incident lasted for 25 minutes. The crew reported turbulence during the first pass and vibrations during the second, the Navy said.

Officials have so far been unable to estimate how close the Russian aircraft came to the Navy plane, but said the flight behavior of the Russians was the key factor in describing the encounter as unsafe, CNN reported.

American officials were not initially able to determine if the Russian aircraft was armed or not.

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