Military releases video of Russian jet flying within 5 feet of US aircraft
By Benjamin Raven - Updated 2:41 PM; Posted 2:40 PM
RE:
http://www.mlive.com/news/us-world/i...eo_of_rus.html
The U.S. State Department has released video of a Russian SU-27 jet flying within five feet of an American EP-3 aircraft's flight path over international waters on Monday, Jan. 29.
Heather Nauert, State Department spokesperson, said in a statement that the "unsafe interaction" brings the "highest level of concern (with) the latest incident of unsafe Russian military practices." The U.S. EP-3 Ares II aircraft is described by the military as a $36 million reconnaissance one that is more than 116 feet long and 36 feet high.
Video on site or this link (if it works)
https://youtu.be/uC_joSQzYcs
U.S. EP-3 Intercepted in the Black Sea
"While the U.S. aircraft was operating under international law, the Russian side was flagrantly violating existing agreements and international law, in this case the 1972 Agreement for the Prevention of Incidents On and Over the High Seas (INCSEA)," the U.S. State Department statement reads. "This is but the latest example of Russian military activities disregarding international norms and agreements.
"We call on Russia to cease these unsafe actions that increase the risk of miscalculation, danger to aircrew on both sides, and midair collisions."
In the video, the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa 6th Fleet reports the Russian SU-27 directly cross the American plane's flight path which caused the U.S. EP-3 to fly through the Russian aircraft's jet wash. The U.S. military reports that the duration of this intercept lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes.
In response, CNN reports the Russian Defense Ministry said that its aircraft "was strictly in accordance with international rules for the use of airspace and there were no extraordinary events."
"A Su-27 fighter was sent to intercept the target and approached the aircraft at a safe distance and identified it as an ER-3E US reconnaissance aircraft," CNN reports the Russian statement reads.
"The crew of the fighter jet reported the identification of the American reconnaissance aircraft and accompanied it, preventing it from violating Russian airspace, observing all necessary security measures."
This isn't the only time a Russian aircraft has intercepted or come extremely close with a U.S. jet in the past year. Back in April 2017, two Russain TU-95 bombers were intercepted within 100 miles of Kodiak Island and 280 miles away from Elmendorf Air Force Base.
In November 2017, a Pentagon spokesperson said a Russian fighter jet made an "unsafe, unprovoked" intercept of a U.S. aircraft over international waters. Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza told CNN at the time that a Russian Su-30 intercepted a U.S. P-8A Poseidon aircraft over the Black Sea by crossing in front of it from right to left while engaging its afterburners. The spokeswoman for the Pentagon said the U.S. aircraft "did nothing to provoke this Russian behavior."
A couple of months before the November 2017 intercept, Russia's Defense Ministry said it would treat any U.S.-led warplanes over Syria's government-controlled areas as potential targets. This warning came a day after the U.S. shot down a Syrian aircraft for the first time in June 2017.