Three US Aircraft Involved In Near-Miss Over Norfolk

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Three United States Air Force aircraft, including two F-15 fighter jets, were involved in a near-miss over Norfolk. 

The two F-15s were in combat training when the incident occurred, according to the UK Airprox Board (UKAB).

One jet was acting as an aggressor and the other as a defender, when they made a climbing left turn which brought them towards a Boeing RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. 

The US operates F-15s from RAF Lakenheath and RC-135s from RAF Mildenhall, both in Suffolk.

The incident caused the Boeing RC-135's warning system to be activated inside the cockpit. 

Both fighter jets were receiving air traffic information from a controller based in Swanwick, Hampshire. 

When one of the F-15 pilots spotted the RC-135, they ended their training and made a right-turn to avoid a crash.

Radar recordings show one of the F-15s passed with 370 metres of the RC-135.

The RC-135 pilot marked the risk of collision as "medium".

UKAB believes the fighter pilots had "sufficient information" about the location of the RC-135.

However, they may not have fully understood it due to being engaged in "highly-dynamic maneuvering". The report stated:

"The cause of the (incident) was that the F-15 pilots flew into conflict with the RC-135, despite having received traffic information."

The incident happened on 27 November 2017. 

In January 2017, two F-15s narrowly avoided a mid-air collision with an RAF tanker off the coast of Norfolk.

The RAF Voyager claimed one of the F-15s flew as close as 50 metres.