UK says surveillance plane dangerously intercepted by Russian jets last month

LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) – 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. 

(Reporting by Sarah YoungEditing by Gareth Jones)