US Plane Intercepted by Russian Jet in 'Unsafe and Unprofessional Manner' - East Idaho News
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US Plane Intercepted by Russian Jet in ‘Unsafe and Unprofessional Manner’

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Thinkstock 041315 FighterJet?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1428955362877Ana Abrao/Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The U.S. is unhappy with the “unsafe and unprofessional manner” in which a Russian pilot reportedly intercepted a U.S. reconnaissance plane last week.

According to U.S. European Command, a U.S. RC-135U was flying “a routine route in international airspace” when it was approached by a Russian SU-27 Flanker. The Russian plane intercepted the American one, which is not uncommon.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said that what was different was the “sloppy airmanship” displayed by the Russian pilot. He speculated that the pilot may have been poorly trained or “wanted to prove something,” noting that the Russian plane performed a rolling maneuver to show off its weapons load. It also approached the American plane “at a high rate of speed [and] conducted some aerial maneuvers in the vicinity of our aircraft that the crew determined was exceptionally unsafe and a blatant display of unprofessionalism.”

U.S. European Command said that the U.S. “is raising this incident with Russia in the appropriate diplomatic and official channels.”


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