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A U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane was intercepted by a Russian fighter plane over the Baltic Sea in what American officials said was an unsafe and unprofessional manner, the second such instance in a week.
The Russian jet came to within 50 feet of the Air Force plane and then executed a barrel roll over the American plane’s left side to its right, U.S. European Command officials said.
Lt. Col. David Westover, a spokesman for European Command, said the aircraft, a RC-135, was flying on a routine route in international air space on Thursday when the incident occurred.
Russian officials disputed the account, saying they were responding to an unidentified target approaching their border at high speed.
The incident, which happened Thursday but didn’t come to light until this weekend, could further complicate U.S.-Russia relations. As the U.S. builds up its assets in the Baltic Sea, Russia has taken a more aggressive posture in response.
Reports that the Russian Su-27 jets made a dangerous approach were “not true,” according to a Russian military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov. Gen. Konashenkov said the Russian aircraft had scrambled in response to “an unidentified aerial target heading to the Russian state border at high speed.”
“The flight of the Russian aircraft was carried out in the strict accordance with the international rules of the airspace usage, no emergency situations emerged,” he said.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-fighter-buzzes-u-s-air-force-plane-over-baltic-sea-1460914246
The Russian jet came to within 50 feet of the Air Force plane and then executed a barrel roll over the American plane’s left side to its right, U.S. European Command officials said.
Lt. Col. David Westover, a spokesman for European Command, said the aircraft, a RC-135, was flying on a routine route in international air space on Thursday when the incident occurred.
Russian officials disputed the account, saying they were responding to an unidentified target approaching their border at high speed.
The incident, which happened Thursday but didn’t come to light until this weekend, could further complicate U.S.-Russia relations. As the U.S. builds up its assets in the Baltic Sea, Russia has taken a more aggressive posture in response.
Reports that the Russian Su-27 jets made a dangerous approach were “not true,” according to a Russian military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov. Gen. Konashenkov said the Russian aircraft had scrambled in response to “an unidentified aerial target heading to the Russian state border at high speed.”
“The flight of the Russian aircraft was carried out in the strict accordance with the international rules of the airspace usage, no emergency situations emerged,” he said.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-fighter-buzzes-u-s-air-force-plane-over-baltic-sea-1460914246