UK defense authorities disclosed Wednesday that Russian fighter jets on multiple occasions carried out dangerous interceptions of British Royal Air Force reconnaissance flights in international airspace last month, risking a possible collision in what British Defense Secretary John Healey described as “dangerous and unacceptable.”
In the first engagement, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet came close enough to the aircraft, triggering its emergency systems and disabling its autopilot, and a Su-27 in a second engagement conducted six passes directly in front of the aircraft’s nose at roughly six meters (19ft).
A pattern of risky encounters
According to the British Defense Ministry, this was the most serious interaction between Russian and British aircraft since 2022, when a Russian fighter released a missile near an RAF surveillance plane over the Black Sea. Moscow described that earlier incident as a technical malfunction, though reporting at the time questioned that explanation.
The April interception took place as NATO aircraft continue regular surveillance flights over international airspace near Ukraine and Russia to monitor military movements tied to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The Black Sea encounter comes amid growing tensions between Russia and NATO members. Earlier this week, Lithuania briefly lifted air alerts after reported drone incursions near its airspace, while NATO jets reportedly failed to locate a suspected drone, underscoring regional security concerns.