Russian fighter jet intercepts RAF spy plane off Crimean coast
A Russian jet was scrambled to intercept an RAF spy plane and its two Typhoon fighter escorts flying over the Black Sea near Crimea, the Kremlin said on Friday.
According to the Russian defence ministry, the Su-27 fighter was launched to prevent the RAF planes from approaching the Russian border.
“As the Russian fighter approached, foreign military aircraft made a turn from the State border of the Russian Federation,” the ministry said in a statement.
“There was no violation of the State Border of the Russian Federation,” it added.
It is unclear if this is a different interception to one announced by the Ministry of Defence on Wednesday.
An MoD spokesman said: “An RAF RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft and Typhoon escort supported by a Voyager for Air-to-Air refuelling, carried out a routine operation in international airspace over the Black Sea today [Wednesday].”
‘Usually ignore Russian jets’
British surveillance aircraft flights over the Black Sea are relatively common and often pass without incident.
“The aircraft usually ignore Russian jets and complete their deployment with both sides parting without any sort of incident,” said George Allison, founder of the UK Defence Journal.
In September 2022, a Russian jet fired a missile “in the vicinity” of an unarmed RAF RC-135W Rivet Joint that was on a routine patrol.
The RC-135W Rivet Joint is a surveillance plane that uses sensors to soak up electronic information that can then be forwarded to commanders.
It is unarmed and can hold a crew of around 30, including pilots, a navigator, analysts and linguists.