UK says surveillance plane dangerously intercepted by Russian jets last month

Two Russian jets last ​month intercepted a British Royal ​Air Force surveillance plane ‌over the Black ​Sea, in what Britain's defence ministry said on Wednesday was a dangerous incident that raised ‌the risk of potential escalation between NATO and Russia. • The UK Rivet Joint aircraft was unarmed and carrying out routine surveillance in international airspace ‌over the Black Sea, the ministry said in a statement.

• It ‌was repeatedly intercepted by a Russian Su-35 aircraft, which flew close enough to trigger emergency systems on the British plane, it said. A Russian Su-27 conducted six passes, flying ⁠six ​metres from ⁠the Rivet Joint's nose. • The incident was the most dangerous Russian action against a ⁠UK surveillance plane since 2022 when a nearby Russian plane released a missile ​over the Black Sea, in what Moscow later called a technical ⁠malfunction.

• RAF planes routinely carry out surveillance with allies to secure NATO's eastern flank. • ⁠This ​week there has been a series of security incidents in the Baltic region, with a drone violating Lithuanian airspace, and a fighter ⁠jet shooting down a suspected Ukrainian drone over Estonia. • Earlier this year, ⁠Britain deployed ⁠military vessels to prevent attacks on cables and pipelines by Russian submarines that spent more than a month in ‌and around ‌UK waters.

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