British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said a Russian Su-27 fighter fired a missile near a British RC-135W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea, after which Britain suspended patrols.
This happened on September 29, but the British minister spoke about it only today in the House of Commons, Sky News reports .
According to Wallace, he made a request to his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu and "reported his concerns" in connection with this "potentially dangerous interaction." “In my letter, I made it clear that the [RAF] aircraft was unarmed, was in international airspace, and was following a pre-announced flight route. I thought it prudent to suspend these patrols until a response is received from the Russian state,” the minister said.
Shoigu responded by explaining that there had been a technical malfunction: a Russian aircraft had accidentally fired a missile.
Wallace said the incident was over and normal patrols had "resumed" but this time with fighter escorts. The UK does not consider the incident a "deliberate escalation" and "analysis confirms that it was a glitch," he said.
“However, this is a reminder of how dangerous the situation can be if you use fighters in the way that the Russians have done repeatedly in different periods of history,” Wallace said.