The Russian Ministry of Defense released footage from an interaction between fighters from the Russian Air Force and a flight group from the British Royal Air Force (RAF).
After detecting three unidentified air targets approaching the Russian border over the Black Sea, the Russian air defense forces scrambled a pair of Su-27 fighter jets into the air to intercept and identify them.
The Russian pilots identified an RAF Boeing RC-135 electronic reconnaissance aircraft, accompanied by two Eurofighter Typhoon fighters.
As the Russian fighter jets approached the British flight group, the latter made a sharp turn away from the State border of the Russian Federation, the ministry states.
“There was no violation of the State Border of the Russian Federation,” the ministry commented in a statement. “The flight of Russian fighters was carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace over neutral waters, without crossing air routes or dangerously approaching aircraft of a foreign state.”
Such encounters have not always been so peaceful in the past. On September 29, 2022, an RAF RC-135 observation aircraft was on patrol in international airspace above the Black Sea when it was intercepted by two Su-27 fighters belonging to the Russian Air Force. During the encounter, one of the fighters “released a missile in the vicinity of the Rivet Joint.”