British RC-135 almost shot down by Russian Su-27 jet last year Leaked US military document reveals

A Russian fighter jet nearly shot down a British surveillance plane last year, according to a leaked US military document circulating online, an incident more significant than was previously disclosed and that could have drawn the United States and its NATO allies directly into the Ukraine war.

The near miss occurred on September 29 off the coast of Crimea, the heavily fortified Ukrainian peninsula that Russia seized in 2014 and has used to base its Black Sea naval fleet and launch attacks elsewhere in Ukraine, writes Washington Post.

The document, one of the dozens in a trove of leaked classified Pentagon documents that have triggered a Justice Department investigation, refers to the incident as a “near-shoot down of UK RJ,” a reference to the “Rivet Joint” moniker common for RC-135 reconnaissance planes. The aircraft is used to collect radio transmissions and other electronic messages.

British Defense Minister Ben Wallace disclosed the incident to Parliament’s House of Commons in October, saying that two Russian Su-27 fighter jets had intercepted the RC-135 in international airspace over the Black Sea, flying “recklessly,” with one plane coming within 15 feet of the British aircraft.

One of the Russian jets “released a missile” at a distance, Wallace told lawmakers then — but he did not describe the incident as a near-shootdown, attributed the missile launch to a “technical malfunction” and said he had spoken with senior Russian defence officials about it.

The incident highlights the balancing act that Western military officials have sought to maintain as they attempt to aid the Ukrainian military and collect information about the war without being drawn directly into conflict with Moscow.

Russian officials have sought to portray NATO nations as aggressors, while the United States and its allies have said they are supporting Ukraine but are not at war with Russia.

Under NATO’s treaty, if a member of the military alliance is a victim of an armed attack, all members of the alliance will consider it an attack and collectively respond.

US defence officials declined to comment about the contents of the leaked document, as they have with other information in the trove that was found on apps including Discord, Telegram and Twitter. An official with the British Embassy in Washington also declined to comment, and the Russian Embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

The document was printed with headers for the Pentagon’s Joint Staff and details surveillance flights over the Black Sea from the day of the reported near-shootdown up to February 26.

The document is labelled “SECRET/NOFORN,” a classification that indicates it is not to be shared with non-U.S. citizens. It details a number of other Russian reactions to surveillance flights by U.S., British and French aircraft between October and the end of February, including one on December 30 in which another British Rivet Joint, accompanied by two British Typhoon fighter jets, was intercepted by Russian jets that came within 100 feet.