In 2022, a Russian pilot tried to shoot down a Royal Forces reconnaissance plane, believing that it had permission to open fire.
The BBC reports this, citing sources.
It is indicated that the pilot fired two missiles, the first of which missed, and did not malfunction, as previously stated.
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Russia said the incident last September was caused by a “technical fault”. The UK Ministry of Defense has publicly accepted the Russian explanation.
But now three senior Western defense sources familiar with the incident have said that Russian communications intercepted by an RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft paint a completely different picture than the official one. version.
On September 29 last year, an RAF aircraft with a crew of up to 30 people was carrying out an observation mission over the Black Sea in international airspace when it collided with two Russian SU-27 fighter jets.
Intercepted messages indicate that one of the Russian pilots believed that he received permission to shoot down a British plane after an ambiguous command from a Russian ground station.
However, the second Russian pilot did not think so. He became angry and swore at his colleague when he fired the first missile.
In response to these new revelations, a British Ministry of Defense spokesman said they always strive to protect the safety of operations, avoid unnecessary escalation and keep the public and international community informed .
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace spoke about the incident in the House of Commons back in October, saying that two Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted the RC-135 in international airspace over the Black Sea, coming within five meters.
