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)

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