Military.com is reporting that a Russian fighter jet intercepted an American reconnaissance plane in international airspace over the Pacific in late April.
The fighter identified by the Pentagon as a Russian Su-27 fighter flew across the nose of the U.S. Air Force RC -135U aircraft, coming within about 100 feet (30 meters), while in international airspace over the Sea of Okhotsk.
An RU-135U is a highly specialized reconnaissance plane known as “Combat Sent.”
The Sukhoi Su-27 (Russian: Сухой Су-27) (NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a twin-engine supermanoeuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. The Su-27 is equipped with a Phazotron N001 Myech coherent pulse-Doppler radar with track-while-scan and look-down / shoot-down capability.
Maximum speed: Mach 2.35 (2,500 km/h, 1,550 mph) at altitude.
Armament includes:
1 × 30 mm GSh-30-1 cannon with 150 rounds
4,430 kg (9,770 lb) on 10 external pylons
Up to 6 × medium-range AA missiles R-27, 2 × short-range heat-seeking AA missiles R-73
It should be understood that the Russian fighter could have easily blown away the RC-135U, which didn’t stand a chance in any kind of confrontation with the craft. According to Col. Warren ” The Russian pilot maneuvered his jet in a way that exposed its belly to the American crew, he said, apparently as a way of showing that it was armed.”
Clearly this was meant as a warning!
The incident sparked a formal complaint by Pentagon top brass to their Russian counterparts.
See also report: Many unanswered questions remain in the incident involving a Russian fighter and a US reconnaissance aircraft https://groundreport.com/many-unanswered-questions-remain-in-the-incident-involving-a-russian-fighter-and-a-us-reconnaissance-aircraft/
See video: Sukhoi T-50 Stealth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0LEzFDfraY
See incredible video of Sukhoi super maneuverability http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dggtma54dZc