Russian fighter crosses 5 feet in front of U.S. Navy surveillance plane; the VIDEO will make your stomach TURN (Watch)
(National Sentinel) Unsafe: The Pentagon has released breathtaking footage of a Russian Su-27 fighter plane that flew dangerously close to a U.S. Navy P-3 Orion surveillance plane flying in international airspace over the Black Sea on Monday.
The Pentagon said that the Russian plane intercepted the American patrol plane flying in international airspace over the Black Sea, CBS News reported. The Russian plane came within five feet of the American plane, causing the Orion crew to fly through jet wash and prematurely end its surveillance mission.
Pentagon spokeswoman Capt. Pamela Kunze said contact between the two aircraft lasted for two and a half hours while the Russian SU-27 jet crossed directly in front of the US plane’s flight path on at least one occasion.
“Unsafe actions increase the risk of miscalculation and midair collisions,” Kunze said, noting that Russia has a right to fly planes in international airspace but “must behave within international standards set to ensure safety and prevent incidents.”
“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 said of the incident.
“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,” the statement said.
Russia has been stepping up its activities in the Baltic and Black seas, as well as the Arctic and North Atlantic, particularly submarine patrols.
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