Russian jet intercepts US aircraft with 'unsafe' maneuvers

The Russian aircraft performed multiple interceptions of the US plane, with one tense encounter bringing the planes within 10 feet of each other.

|
Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP/File
A man holds a Russian flag to mark National Flag Day in Moscow, Aug. 22, 2014.

A Russian plane made an "unsafe intercept" of a US Navy spy plane flying over the Black Sea Wednesday, say US officials.

The intercept this week is the latest in a series of encounters that evoke cold war posturing between Russia and the United States in the aftermath of World War II.

The American plane, a Boeing P-8A Poseidon, was reportedly intercepted four times by a Russian SU-27 Flanker as it flew through international airspace. The US pilot reported one of those intercepts as particularly unsafe.

US and Russian ships and planes regularly interact amicably and professionally when patrolling across international waters and skies. But this week the Russian plane got within a dangerous 10 feet of the US plane for a duration of 19 minutes, reported the Associated Press. At that range, a minor error from either pilot could have destroyed both aircraft.

"We have concerns when there is an unsafe maneuver like this," Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told the AP. "These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions, and could result in a miscalculation or accident."

Russian authorities say the US aircraft provoked interception when the spy plane approached its borders with its transponders off, according to Reuters. Transponder signals identify a plane's location and country of origin, and assist in preventing collisions.

"After the Russian fighters got close to the spy planes for visual confirmation and to determine their wing numbers, the American aircraft changed course sharply and flew away," Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a release, according to the BBC. "The Russia pilots acted in strict accordance with international rules for flights." 

US officials, however, insist that the US plane's transponder was active the whole time, and that the Russian pilot responded to the US aircraft in a "dangerous and unprofessional" manner.

This is not the first encounter like this between US and Russian forces. The Christian Science Monitor reported an incident in April when Russian planes repeatedly buzzed a US Navy destroyer in what the commander of the US vessel called "a simulated attack."  During that incident, Russian officials also insisted that the jets were not doing anything wrong, claiming the maneuvers were "conducted in strict compliance to the international rules of airspace management over neutral waters."

This latest incident occurs as tensions between the two countries remain high.

In July, NATO leaders agreed to deploy military forces to Poland and various Baltic states and increase patrols to reassure former Soviet bloc allies, according to Reuters, and the US and Russia are already at odds in Ukraine and Syria.

The interception over the Black Sea comes as Russia carries out military exercises in the area.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Russian jet intercepts US aircraft with 'unsafe' maneuvers
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/2016/0908/Russian-jet-intercepts-US-aircraft-with-unsafe-maneuvers
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe