US military again accuses Russian jets of 'unsafe' aerial encounter
The US military has once again accused Russian jets of conducting an "unsafe" intercept of a US Navy P-8 surveillance aircraft Tuesday while it was flying in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea.
Posted — Updated"Two Russian Su-35 aircraft unsafely intercepted a P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft assigned to U.S. 6th Fleet over the Mediterranean Sea May 26, 2020," the US Navy said in a statement.
"The intercept was determined to be unsafe and unprofessional due to the Russian pilots taking close station on each wing of the P-8A simultaneously, restricting the P-8A's ability to safely maneuver, and lasted a total of 64 minutes," the statement added.
Images of the incident appeared to show the Russian jets armed and flying very close to the wings of the US surveillance aircraft.
"The unnecessary actions of the Russian Su-35 pilots were inconsistent with good airmanship and international flight rules, and jeopardized the safety of flight of both aircraft," the Navy said in a statement.
The US Navy previously said that Russian jets made similar unsafe intercepts of US surveillance aircraft over the Mediterranean in April.
US officials believe Russia is sensitive about US surveillance aircraft operating in the Eastern Mediterranean due to Russian military operations in Syria.
Earlier Tuesday, the US military accused Russia of flying military jets from Russia to Libya via Syria where US officials said that Russian markings were removed from the aircraft in an effort to clandestinely deploy the warplanes to Libya in support of Russian mercenaries operating there.
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