Alwaght- A Russian fighter jet was scrambled to intercept a US spy plane flying over neutral waters of the Black Sea on May 9, during the annual Victory Day Military parade in Moscow.
“After approaching a plane at a safe distance the Russian pilot visually identified the flying object as a US surveillance plane P-8A Poseidon,” Russian Defense Ministry revealed on Friday.
The incident occurred on May 9 at around 9am GMT, when Russian radars detected an aerial target over neutral waters of the Black Sea approaching the Russian border.
A Su-30 fighter jet was scrambled to intercept it, the ministry of defense said, adding that the jet safely returned to the base afterwards.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected any claims that the interception might be considered an "unjustified risk."
The Russian pilot “greeted” the US pilots with a special maneuver, after which the US plane changed its course away from the Russian border.
On Thursday, the Pentagon commented on the interaction, calling the Russian jet Su-27.
Capt. Pamela Kunze, a spokeswoman for US Naval Forces Europe said the Su-27 approached the P-8A Poseidon while it was "conducting routine operations in international airspace."
She added that the interaction "was considered safe and professional" by the P-8A's mission commander.
It comes about a week after Russian jets and bombers were intercepted while conducting routine flights near Alaska. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that these flights in no way violate any nation’s borders or international rules, and similar missions are conducted over the Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans, as well as the Black Sea.
The jets were, however, intercepted by US military aircraft. US officials treated the incident as routine as well, describing it as “unproblematic” and saying that around 60 incidents have occurred since 2007.
Experts say previously, the US deemed such interactions as "unsafe" and "unprofessional," often making fools of themselves but now they seem to have changed their tact.
