The Russian Ministry Of Protection has launched footage of an in depth encounter between Su-27 Flankers and RAF Rivet Joint with Storm escort.

On Oct. 19, 2023, an RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint intelligence gathering plane, escorted by two Eurofighter Storm FGR4 jets, flew a mission over the Black Sea. The British trio weren’t alone although, as they have been intercepted and shadowed by two Russian Su-27 Flankers off Crimea.

Video of yesterday’s intercept of a Royal Air Pressure Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint being escorted by 2 Eurofighter Typhoons over the Black Sea by 2 Russian Air Pressure Su-27s. Discover the 1 Storm breaks away from the RC-135 and the Su-27 turns to observe it. pic.twitter.com/fPs7s7BL6L

— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) October 21, 2023

A brief clip of the shut encounter was launched by the Russian MOD. The footage exhibits the second the lead Su-27 breaks aways from and the second Flankers turns to observe the chief.

“Russian airspace management methods over the Black Sea detected three air targets approaching the State border of the Russian Federation,” says the Russian MOD. “To establish air targets and stop violation of the State Border of the Russian Federation, a pair of Su-27 fighters from the air protection forces on obligation have been scrambled into the air. Russian fighter crews recognized the air targets as an RC-135 digital reconnaissance and digital warfare plane and two RAF Storm multi-role fighters.”

“As Russian fighters approached, international navy plane made a flip from the State border of the Russian Federation. Russian planes returned safely to their dwelling airfield. There was no violation of the State Border of the Russian Federation. The flight of Russian fighters was carried out in strict accordance with worldwide guidelines for using airspace over impartial waters with out crossing air routes or dangerously approaching plane of a international state.”

The three British plane could possibly be tracked on-line on flight monitoring web sites throughout most of their mission over the Black Sea.

As we reported intimately final 12 months, a Royal Air Pressure RC-135W had a close encounter with two armed Russian Su-27 Flanker jets whereas flying a surveillance patrol in worldwide airspace over the Black Sea on Sept. 29, 2022. In the course of the “interplay”, that lasted about 90 minutes, one of many Russian fighters “launched a missile within the neighborhood of the RAF Rivet Joint past visible vary”.

Whereas initially depicted as a “probably harmful engagement” that, nonetheless, didn’t look like a “deliberate escalation” however the results of a technical malfunction, the incident was known as a “near-shoot down” in U.S. navy paperwork made public as a part of the so-called Pentagon Leaks. Russian communications intercepted by the RC-135 present that one of many Russian pilots thought he had been given permission to focus on the British plane, following an ambiguous command from a Russian floor station.

Right here’s what we defined in a previous post on the incident:

In response to unnamed senior Western defence sources, the communication acquired from the bottom station controller was to the impact of “you’ve got the goal” and interpreted as permission to fireside. The Su-27 pilot released an air-to-air missile, which efficiently launched however missed its goal after failing to lock on to it. The pilot of the second Flanker is claimed to have begun to swear to different one, considering that they had not been given permission to fireside and asking him what he thought he was doing.

The primary pilot then launched a second missile, one thing that has by no means been acknowledged for the reason that incident. In response to the BBC’s sources, “the second missile merely fell from the wing, suggesting the weapon both malfunctioned or that the launch was aborted”.

Whereas it didn’t launch particulars of these communications, the British Ministry of Defence advised the BBC: “Our intent has all the time been to guard the security of our operations, keep away from pointless escalation and inform the general public and worldwide group.” The spokesperson additionally added that “this incident is a stark reminder of the potential penalties of Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine”.

Since then, NATO manned and unmanned ISR (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance) platforms have continued to function within the Black Sea area, however at an elevated distance from Crimea. This seems to be associated to the presence of a “SECDEF [Secretary of Defense] directed standoff” distance which separates the ISR routes from Crimea, as proven by the Pentagon Leaks. Because the incident, RAF Typhoon FGR4 jets fly escort mission in help of the RC-135s working within the space.