Russian Su 35 fighter jet intercepts American Navy surveillance plane thrice in three hours
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MOSCOW - A Russian Sukhoi Su-35C fighter on Tuesday (June 4) intercepted a P-8A Poseidon aircraft of the United States of America thrice in less than three hours in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea.
While the US Naval Forces Europe-Africa (US 6th Fleet) claimed the P-8A Poseidon was operating consistent with international law and did not provoke the Su-35C, the Russian Defence Ministry rejected the American claim its jet had unsafely conducted the intercept of the US military jet over the Mediterranean.
"On June 4, 2019, a US P-8A Poseidon aircraft flying in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea was intercepted by a Russian SU-35 three times over the course of 175 minutes.
The first and third interaction were deemed safe. The second interaction was determined to be unsafe due to the SU-35 conducting a high speed pass directly in front of the mission aircraft, which put our pilots and crew at risk.
The crew of the P-8A reported wake turbulence following the second interaction. The duration of the intercept was approximately 28 minutes," said the US 6th Fleet in a statement.
