Tri-Service
Russian Jet 'Barrel-Rolled' Over US Spy Plane
Details have been released of an incident where a Russian fighter jet 'barrel-rolled' over a US spy plane.
The Russian Su-27 performed the manoeuvre over a US Air Force RC-135U reconnaissance aircraft as it flew over the Baltic Sea.
US Navy Captain Danny Hernandez, from United States European Command (EUCOM), was quoted as saying in the Washington Free Beacon:
"On April 14, a US Air Force RC-135 aircraft flying a routine route in international airspace over the Baltic Sea was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 in an unsafe and unprofessional manner."
"There have been repeated incidents over the last year where Russian military aircraft have come close enough to other air and sea traffic to raise serious safety concerns, and we are very concerned with any such behaviour."
"This intercept comes shortly after the unsafe Russian encounters with USS Donald Cook."
Captain Hernandez added that the US aircraft was flying in international airspace, "and at no time crossed into Russian territory." He said:
"This unsafe and unprofessional air intercept has the potential to cause serious harm and injury to all aircrews involved. More importantly, the unsafe and unprofessional actions of a single pilot have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries."
He went on to say that the Su-27 carried out "erratic and aggressive manoeuvres" in approaching the RC-135 from the side at high speed, before it "proceeded to perform an aggressive manoeuvre that posed a threat to the safety of the US aircrew in the RC-135U." He added:
"More specifically, the SU-27 closed within 50 feet of the wing-tip of the RC-135 and conducted a barrel roll starting from the left side of the aircraft, going over the top of the aircraft and ended up to the right of the aircraft."
The RC-135U, a large militarised Boeing 707 jet used as an electronic intelligence-gathering aircraft, is normally operated by around 30 service personnel.
The incident, meanwhile, came in the same week that Russian fighter jets performed a "simulated attack" on the destroyer USS Donald Cook, which Washington said nearly caused an international shootout.
A US Navy officer described the flyover as the most reckless made by a Russian or Chinese warplane since the Cold War, adding:
"I’ve been in a lot of those situations and I’ve never seen any plane come that close."
A former Pentagon analyst and Russian expert, meanwhile, described the recent incidents as a "major escalation of Russian aggressiveness".
But Mark Schneider said that these incidents are likely to "continue to escalate" if the US responds only through weak, pro forma protests.
Captain Hernandez said the US government will protest against all of the incidents to the Russian government through diplomatic channels.
Russian jets performed a "simulated attack" on USS Donald Cook
It's been argued that the incidents violated a bilateral agreement between the countries to prevent incidents at sea, which prohibits simulated attacks and limits the use of automated anti-aircraft guns.
The Cook is equipped with anti-aircraft defences including the Close-In Weapons System, an automatic gun that can target aircraft with 25-millimetre rounds.
It wasn't readied because the ship was operating under the agreement not to illuminate each other’s aircraft. EUCOM said in a statement:
"We have deep concerns about the unsafe and unprofessional Russian flight manoeuvres. These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries, and could result in a miscalculation or accident that could cause serious injury or death."
Moscow, however, has played down the incident involving the Cook. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told the state-run Interfax news agency that the Russian pilots involved acted within safety guidelines.
The intercept of the RC-135, meanwhile, came after a similar action earlier this year, with a Russian Su-27 coming within 20 feet of an RC-135 over the Black Sea in January.
The jet made a high-speed banking turn away from the reconnaissance aircraft, disturbing the pilot controlling it, in what Captain Hernandez said was an "unsafe and unprofessional" action.
Cover photo courtesy of Dmitriy Pichugin.
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