A Russian aircraft on Sept. 29 released a missile near a British aircraft patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea, the Defence Secretary, has revealed.
Ben Wallace told parliament Britain had suspended patrols following the incident involving an unarmed RAF RC-135W Rivet Joint spy plane, which was on a routine patrol when it was intercepted by two Russian SU 27 fighter aircraft.
One of the Russian jets fired a missile from beyond the visual range of the RAF plane, Mr Wallace said.
Mr Wallace said he wrote to his counterpart and the chief of defence staff in Moscow about what was a “potentially dangerous engagement” to express his concerns.
On October 10 Moscow replied, stating that they had conducted an investigation and put the engagement down to a “technical malfunction”. Moscow acknowledged the incident took place in international airspace.
Britain has now resumed patrols, which now have fighter aircraft escorts, he added.
www.telegraph.co.uk
