Russia ‘dangerously’ intercepts British spy plane over Black Sea: Ministry | Story

The incident happened last month when the unarmed Rivet Joint aircraft was protecting NATO’s eastern flank in international airspace, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defence.

Two Russian jets “repeatedly and dangerously intercepted” a British Royal Air Force aircraft in April over the Black Sea, according to the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence.

The Rivet Joint aircraft was unarmed and regularly patrols the international airspace over the Black Sea, protecting NATO’s eastern flank, the ministry said on Wednesday.

“This incident is yet another example of the dangerous and unacceptable behavior of Russian pilots, for an unarmed aircraft operating around the world,” Defense Minister John Healey said in a statement. “These activities pose a high risk of accidents and the number of possible incidents,” he added.

It was repeatedly intercepted by a Russian Su-35 fighter jet, which flew too close to fire emergency weapons at the British plane, it said. The Russian Su-27 made six passes, flying six feet (less than 20 meters) from the nose of the Rivet Joint.

Officials from the Ministry of Defense and Foreign Affairs this week complained to the Russian embassy about the incident in the airspace, Wednesday reported.

It said the incident was Russia’s deadliest attack on a UK surveillance aircraft since 2022, when a nearby Russian aircraft fired a missile over the Black Sea, in what Moscow later called a technical malfunction.

It came days after Mr Healey announced that the Royal Navy had tracked and “seen” three Russian submarines on a month-long “undercover operation” in the Atlantic “north of the UK” near vital undersea cables and pipelines.

Healey revealed more about the project on April 9.

“Let me be clear: This incident will not undermine the UK’s commitment to protecting NATO, our allies and our interests from Russian aggression,” he warned on Wednesday.

The UK patrol involved around 500 people and saw UK aircraft fly more than 450 hours while the submarine traveled thousands of miles.

A security review last year concluded that Russia poses an “immediate and urgent” threat to the country.