The Russian Defence Ministry has published a short video of a Su-27 fighter intercepting an American RC-135 spy plane over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea near the Russian border.
The footage, which was captured from the Su-27’s cockpit, shows the super-manoeuvrable Russian warplane safely approaching from behind and chasing the US reconnaissance plane. The exact time of the interception was not revealed.
#Video A Russian #Su27 fighter of the air defence on-duty forces made a sortie for interception of a #US Air Force's #RC135 reconnaissance aircraft over the neutral waters of the #BalticSea https://t.co/fbo8lz0kW9 @RusEmbUSA @mfa_russia #Interception pic.twitter.com/Wx8lNaXiYp
— Минобороны России (@mod_russia) 7 марта 2019 г.
The video followed the Russian Defence Ministry saying in a statement that the on-duty Su-27 jet was scrambled “to identify the origin of the target and intercept it” over the Baltic Sea.
“The Su-27 jet returned safely to its home base after the foreign aircraft flew away from the Russian border”, according to the statement.
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The past few years have seen more foreign spy planes snooping near Russia's borders. The most recent incident before the RC-135 encounter was reported in late January, when the Russian military said that a Su-27 fighter jet was scrambled to identify and intercept a Swedish reconnaissance aircraft.
