“You have a target”: a Russian Su-27 almost shot down a British spy plane due to a controversial order

The Russian command gave an ambiguous order/Channel 24 Collage

In 2022, the Russian Su-27 fighter fired two rockets. The occupiers reported a technical malfunction, but the media, citing sources, claim that it was a pilot error.

They report that the fighter was close to shooting down a British aircraft over the Black Sea. However, a problem occurred and the missile did not aim at the target.

Ambiguous orders from the ground

It is known that on September 29, 2022, a British reconnaissance aircraft carried out a mission over the Black Sea in international airspace when it collided with two Russian SU-27 fighters. During the meeting, one of the pilots attacked the RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint with missiles, but missed.

Russia said the incident was due to a “technical malfunction.” The UK Ministry of Defense officially accepted this version of events. However, the RAF reconnaissance aircraft is equipped with sensors to intercept communications. New details have emerged that refute the words of the invaders.

The interceptions show that the pilots received an ambiguous order from the command, which one of the pilots mistook for permission to open fire. The Russian ground station said that the pilots “have a goal” – this was the reason for the launch. Another Russian did not take these words as permission to attack. He became indignant and began to scold his colleague when he fired the first missile. Despite this, another launch took place.

The UK Ministry of Defense does not publish details of these reports. However, they convinced that they always wanted to avoid unnecessary aggravation.

Our intention has always been to protect the security of our operations, avoid unnecessary escalation and keep the public and international community informed,” the Department of Defense said.

The United States overreacted to the situation and argued that these actions could amount to an act of war. The US military said it was a “near shoot-down”. In Britain they were convinced that a significant part of these reports were false.

Russia is showing aggression against the world

• On the night of September 4, the Russian “Shahed” fell and detonated on Romanian territory. This happened not far from the Ukrainian Izmail in a small village. At first, the Romanian Ministry of Defense denied the attack, but over time admitted that debris was found on the territory of the Catalchioi commune.
• This was not the last defeat for Romania by Russian drones – the country’s authorities. discovered parts of the UAV on September 13. Bucharest said it was conducting investigations and consultations on NATO.
• The Russian military fired several missiles at a Liberian-flagged civilian cargo ship in the Black Sea on August 24. Ukrainian defenders were able to repel the attack.