Video was released yesterday that shows a Russian fighter jet, a Sukhoi Su-27 “Flanker” intercept a B-52. This happens all the time, but this one was much closer. The fighter waggles his wings, then darts in front of the big mid-century bomber.<\/p>\n
This reminds me of the 2001 Hainan Island Incident when a Chinese J-8 fighter did the same thing to a US Navy EP-3, except they made contact. This resulted in the loss of the Chinese aircraft and the death of its pilot. The Americans were interned for more than a week and their plane was never released.<\/p>\n
From the Pentagon;<\/p>\n
At approximately 11:19 a.m. on Aug. 28, 2020, two Russian Su-27 Flanker pilots intercepted a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber that was conducting routine operations in the black sea over international waters. The Russian pilots flew in an unsafe and unprofessional manner while crossing within 100 feet of the nose of the B-52 multiple times at co-altitude and while in afterburner causing turbulence and restricting the B-52\u2019s ability to maneuver.<\/p>\n
The B-52 Stratofortress aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace exercising our freedom of navigation and overflight. The U.S. Air Force routinely operates aircraft in the region in accordance with recognized international safety standards as prescribed in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rules of flight.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Here’s the video of the encounter.<\/p>\n