Russian fighter jet 'fired missile near RAF plane' over Black Sea as WW3 fears rise

dailystar.co.uk:

Russia said it was a technical malfunction and Wallace said Britain has now resumed patrols.Mr Wallace told MPs in Commons that an unarmed "RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint" spy plane was flying in "international airspace over the Black Sea" when two Russian Su-27s "released a missile in the vicinity of the Rivet Joint beyond visual range.The incident occurred on September 29, he said. "We don't consider this a deliberate escalation by the Russians, our analysis would concur it was a malfunction", Mr Wallace continued."In my letter [to Mr Shoigu] I made clear the aircraft was unarmed, in international airspace, and following a pre-notified flight path."I felt it was prudent to suspend these patrols until a response was received by the Russian state."The reply by the Russian Minister of Defence on October 10 stated they have conducted an investigation into the circumstances of the incident and stated it was a technical malfunction."They also acknowledge that the incident took place in international airspace."He explained that it is not unusual for aircraft to be shadowed, but during that interaction on the 29th, it transpired that one of the SU-27 aircraft released a missile which is unusual.The total time of the interaction between the Russian aircraft and the Rivet Joint was approximately 90 minutes and once the patrol was completed, the aircraft returned to base.Wallace said they are "incredibly lucky that it didn't become worse" and told MPs of a separate incident where a Russian fighter jet came within 15ft of a NATO aircraft.

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