Two Russian warplanes harassed an unarmed RAF spy plane over the Black Sea during a routine mission in late October. The Ministry of Defence says the encounter was both reckless and dangerous for everyone operating within the busy international corridor.
A Russian Su-35 fighter cut close to the Rivet Joint surveillance plane, triggering emergency systems and forcing the autopilot to shut down.
But the aggression did not stop there. A second jet, a Su-27, flew six passes across the nose of the RAF craft at a distance of just six meters.
This maneuver put the British crew in immediate physical peril during what should have been a standard and peaceful flight path.
Defence Secretary John Healey praised the crew for their calm response while calling the flybys a serious risk to human life.
"This incident is another example of dangerous behavior," Healey said in a formal statement released on 14 November. He argued the pilots ignored international norms.
The Rivet Joint was monitoring Nato’s eastern flank and stayed within international airspace throughout the entire duration of its long flight.
And this is not a new threat. Officials say this is the most perilous encounter since a Russian pilot fired a missile at a similar plane in September 2022.
Yet, Moscow claimed that the 2022 shot was a technical glitch, even though Western sources later told the BBC the pilot acted on orders.
Now, the Foreign Office wants answers. They have asked the Russian embassy to condemn the latest stunts and ensure their pilots follow the rules of the air.
The RAF crew flies out of Lincolnshire and uses advanced sensors to track military movements in real-time across the Black Sea region.
So, the UK remains firm. Healey insists the Royal Air Force will keep flying these routes to protect allies from any further Russian aggression in the area.
Yet, tensions are high elsewhere too. The MoD recently tracked Russian submarines near vital cables in the North Sea as part of a wider pattern of hostility.
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