The US Navy has released a video apparently showing an American reconnaissance plane being intercepted by a Russian jet while flying over the Black Sea.
According to the US Navy, the Russian SU-27 jet intercepted the US EP-3 Aries aircraft as it was flying over international airspace.
The Russian military jet sped directly in front of the EP-3, leading the US Navy to deem the incident “unsafe”.
The high speed pass was believed to put the US pilots and crew “at risk”.
The SU-27 aircraft then made an additional manoeuvre towards the US jet and applied its afterburner during turn away.
US crew reportedly felt turbulence from the initial altercation, and vibrations from the second.
The duration of the encounter is estimated to have lasted approximately 25 minutes.
The US Navy has branded the interaction “irresponsible” and have told the Russian military to “behave within international standards” in order to avoid potentially dangerous incidents.
The Russian embassy in the US tweeted about the encounter, saying the fighter jet "followed all necessary safety procedures."
"The Su-27 jet's crew reported identifying the #US EP-3 Aries spy plane and accompanied it, preventing a violation of Russian airspace and followed all necessary safety procedures," the tweet said.
