Russian jet flies within feet of U.S. plane over Baltic Sea
A U.S. military official says a Russian fighter jet flew within several feet of an American reconnaissance plane in what the U.S. says was an unsafe maneuver over the Baltic Sea.
Navy Capt. Danny Hernandez, a U.S. European Command spokesman, said the Russian pilot was flying at high speed and had poor control of the aircraft.
Hernandez said the close encounter was unprovoked by the U.S. aircraft and that it wasn’t clear if there was any communication between the aircraft.
It’s not known how many U.S. crew members were on the plane.
Hernandez says the incident happened Monday, when the U.S. RC-135 was on a routine mission in international airspace.
Intercepts between U.S. and Russian aircraft are common, and are generally not as dangerously close.
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