UK says surveillance plane dangerously intercepted by Russian jets last month

LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - Two Russian ​jets last ⁠month intercepted a British Royal ​Air Force surveillance plane over the Black Sea, in what Britain's ​defence ‌ministry said on Wednesday was a dangerous incident that raised ⁠the risk of potential escalation between NATO ⁠and Russia.

• The ​UK Rivet Joint aircraft was unarmed and carrying out routine surveillance in international airspace over the Black Sea, the ministry ​said ‌in a statement.

• It was repeatedly intercepted by a Russian Su-35 aircraft, which flew close enough to trigger emergency systems on the British plane, it said. A ​Russian Su-27 conducted six passes, flying six metres from the ‌Rivet Joint's nose.

• The incident was the most dangerous Russian action against a UK ‌surveillance plane since 2022 when a nearby Russian plane released a missile over the Black Sea, in what ​Moscow later called a technical malfunction.

• RAF planes routinely carry out surveillance ‌with allies to secure NATO's eastern flank. • This week there has been a series of security incidents in the Baltic ⁠region, ⁠with a drone violating Lithuanian airspace, ‌and a fighter jet shooting down a suspected Ukrainian drone over Estonia. • Earlier ​this ​year, Britain deployed military vessels to prevent attacks ‌on cables and pipelines by Russian submarines that spent more than a month in and around UK waters. (Reporting by Sarah Young Editing by Gareth Jones)