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A Russian fighter aircraft made two close passes by intercepting an American reconnaissance aircraft EP-3 Aries, announced the US Navy, broadcasting a video of what she called a dangerous and irresponsible encounter. The Russian army said that the Su-27 had "escorted" the spy plane over the neutral waters of the Black Sea. But the United States says the fighter has gone straight in front of the spy plane.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the fighter aircraft had approached "at a safe distance" to identify the turboprop aircraft. But the US Navy posted a video taken of the American signal interceptor vessel showing the roaring Su-27 next door, "applying its afterburner while conducting a bank turn."
It was the second of two passes in a meeting that lasted about 25 minutes, the Navy announced. The two planes met on Monday around 10 am local time.
"This interaction was deemed dangerous because the Su-27 was making a high-speed pass directly in front of the mission aircraft, putting our pilots and our crew at risk," said the Navy.
Aboard the EP-3, the American "reported turbulence as a result of the first interaction and vibrations from the second," said the Navy.
The Russian defense agency said that its fighter plane had been removed from its base while an unknown aircraft was approaching Russian airspace. After identifying the US craft, he "escorted him out of the airspace of the Russian Federation in accordance with all safety and security requirements".
But the US service said: "The US aircraft was operating in accordance with international law and had not provoked this Russian activity." And the navy also raised the risk that all parties would involve close interception maneuvers.
The incident comes months after Russian military jets bombed the US missile destroyer Porter in February, an episode that also included "a number of interceptions of US planes by Russian planes." and one of a Russian plane by another plane under NATO flag ". the Pentagon said at the time, according to Military.com.
An EP-3 had been involved in a famous crash in 2001, when one of the spy planes had been hit by a Chinese military plane as it flew over the South China Sea. The Chinese pilot is dead; The American crew managed to land on the Chinese island of Hainan, China, where their paralyzed aircraft is packed with electronic equipment. This development would have exposed technology and sensitive information.
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