BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:30 P.M.) – A Russian jet flew within 7 meters of a U.S. spy plane that was flying towards the Syrian coastline last week, the Russian publication Avia.Pro reported, citing the Popular Mechanics news site.
According to the report, the Russian Su-35, which was deployed to intercept a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft, flew within 7-8 meters of the the spy plane.
“The Su-35 flew only 7-8 meters from the American aircraft in an inverted position. According to the U.S. Navy, the P-8A Poseidon crew struggled to cope with turbulence due to the close passage of the fighter,” the publication quoted Popular Mechanics as saying.
“It was found that the passage was unsafe due to the fact that the Su-35 conducted a high-speed maneuver at a distance of 25 feet directly in front of the mission aircraft, which endangered our pilots and crew,” the US military said in a statement.
Popular Mechanics cited the U.S. Navy as saying, “we expect that they [Russian pilots] will behave in accordance with international standards established to ensure safety and prevent incidents.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense has yet to comment on this incident, which was condemned by officials in Washington.
4 - 4Shares
Be Civil
This is a Civilized Place for Public Discussion
Please treat this discussion with the same respect you would a public park. We, too, are a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge and interests through ongoing conversation.
These are not hard and fast rules, merely guidelines to aid the human judgment of our community and keep this a clean and well-lighted place for civilized public discourse.
Make it better
Improve the Discussion
Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.
The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.
Now the hard part!
Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree
You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That’s fine. But remember to criticize ideas, not people. Please avoid:
Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.