In September, a British reconnaissance plane was flying over the Black Sea when a Russian fighter jet shot down a missile. It was supposed to hit the British jet – but the ammunition failed. So says a leaked US intelligence report documenting how close NATO has come to a direct conflict with Russia. There is talk of a “near shooting down” of the jet with a 30-man crew, according to “New York Times” and “Washington Post“.
Incident “could have amounted to an act of war”
According to the New York Times, two US defense officials reported that the pilot of a Russian fighter jet misinterpreted an instruction from the radar officer on the ground. He would have thought he was allowed to shoot. But the British aircraft, an RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft, was not hit. The rocket did not fire due to a technical error attributed to the outdated technology of Russian weapons.
The situation is “far more serious than originally portrayed and could have amounted to an act of war,” writes the “New York Times” based on the report and statements by two US defense officials. Had the Russian missile hit the British plane, NATO Article Five might have been activated. “The parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America will be considered an attack against them all,” states the North Atlantic Treaty.
Wallace: Russian jets have been behaving aggressively and dangerously
In October, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace described the incident in front of Parliament as “potentially dangerous”. Two Russian Su-27 jets were flying in the airspace off the coast of Crimea. The two jets behaved aggressively and dangerously toward the British plane, Wallace said. One of the planes is said to have flown to within four and a half meters of the British.
He said the Russian jet fired “a missile near” the British jet. It was a technical fault, Russian military representatives later assured him. Neither the Pentagon nor the British and Russian sides have so far taken a position.
