A Russian jet flew within 25 feet of a U.S. spy plane during an "unsafe" high-speed, inverted maneuver over the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday, a statement from the U.S. Navy said.
"While the Russian aircraft was operating in international airspace, this interaction was irresponsible," the statement said, citing the 1972 Agreement for the Prevention of Incidents On and Over the High Seas. "We expect them to behave within international standards set to ensure safety and to prevent incidents."
The Navy said the Russian SU-35's intercept lasted 42 minutes, adding the U.S. P-8A Poseidon aircraft "was operating consistent with international law and did not provoke this Russian activity."
The incident was one of several Wednesday, including a Russian missile test of a weapon potentially capable of taking down U.S. satellites in low orbit, according to the U.S. Space Command, and 11 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats conducting "dangerous and harassing approaches" in the Persian Gulf, according to the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.
