In a startling incident last September, a Russian pilot fired two missiles toward an RAF surveillance plane, believing erroneously that he had received authorization to do so. Initially, Russia attributed the incident to a “technical malfunction,” and the UK Ministry of Defence publicly accepted this explanation.
However, intercepted communications now reveal a different story. One of the Russian pilots thought he had received a vague command from a Russian ground station, which he interpreted as permission to target the aircraft.
The first missile, fired by the Russian pilot, missed the RAF plane, and the second missile failed to launch successfully. Had the second missile reached its target, it could have potentially led to a military confrontation between a NATO member and Russia.
The encounter occurred when two Russian SU-27 fighter jets intercepted the RAF plane, carrying a crew of up to 30 individuals, as it conducted a surveillance mission over the Black Sea in international airspace on September 29th.
Three Western defense sources, knowledgeable about the incident, have disclosed that the Russian pilots received a communication that suggested they had the authority to engage the target.
Subsequently, one of the pilots fired an air-to-air missile, which was successfully launched but failed to hit its intended target. A disagreement ensued between the two Russian pilots, as the second pilot did not believe they had been granted permission to fire.
Another missile was released but simply detached from the wing, indicating either an aborted launch or a weapon malfunction.
Since the RAF’s Rivet Joint aircraft is equipped with communication interception capabilities, the RAF crew could potentially have eavesdropped on the incident, which posed a grave risk to their lives.
While the Russian Ministry of Defence initially labeled it a “technical malfunction,” the UK government acknowledged the incident. Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace characterized it as a “potentially dangerous engagement” but added that it was not deemed a deliberate escalation by the Russians and was attributed to a malfunction.
An intelligence leak, posted online by US airman Jack Teixera, depicted the incident as a “near shoot-down” and suggested that it could have been a far more serious incident, possibly even constituting an act of war.
The Ministry of Defence has now underscored that “this incident is a stark reminder of the potential consequences of Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.”
In the aftermath of the incident, RAF surveillance flights have been accompanied by Typhoon fighter jets armed with air-to-air missiles for added protection.
Source: with agencies