US assails 'unprofessional' intercept of reconnaissance plane
Knoxville Times Tuesday 14th April, 2015
• On April 7, a US RC-135U was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 Flanker when it was flying over the Baltic Sea.
• The incident is another example of escalating friction between Russia and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
• Russia accused the US plane of approaching the Russian border with its transponder, a device that identifies a plane and its location, switched off.
WASHINGTON - The US has said it will complain to Russia about the "unsafe and unprofessional manner" in which an American reconnaissance plane was intercepted by a Russian fighter jet over the Baltic Sea last week.
On April 7, a US RC-135U was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 Flanker when it was flying over the Baltic Sea. The Pentagon said the incident occurred in international airspace north of Poland.
"The nature of Russian air activity is expanding west into Europe and becoming more aggressive," Col. Steve Warren, the chief Pentagon spokesman said in a statement Sunday.
The incident is another example of escalating friction between Russia and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Pentagon spokesman Mark Wright said the US was filing a complaint to Russia over the April 7 incident.
Russian officials have denied their pilot did anything wrong, according to news reports.
The US officials claim the Russian SU-27 fighter intercepted the US aircraft at a high rate of speed from the rear, and then proceeded to conduct two more passes using "unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers" in close proximity.
"Unprofessional air intercepts have the potential to cause harm to all aircrews involved. More importantly, the careless actions of a single pilot have the potential to escalate tensions between countries," Wright said.
"This air activity takes place in the context of a changed security environment in view of Russia's aggression against Ukraine," he said.
Russia accused the US plane of approaching the Russian border with its transponder, a device that identifies a plane and its location, switched off.
Wright said the Pentagon and State Department will "file the appropriate petition through diplomatic channels" with Russia.
Navy Capt. Greg Hicks, the US European Command spokesman, said the plane's transponder was operational.
In a tweet Saturday, the US European Command said a formal complaint would be filed over the April 7 incident.
"The United States is raising this unprofessional incident with Russia in the appropriate diplomatic and official channels," the message said.
Russian state news agency Sputnik reported the US plane was flying toward the Russian border with its transponder switched off, according to a Defense Ministry spokesman.
Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the Russian jet flew around the US plane several times to identify it and get its tail number.
An official with the US European Command said the claim that the transponder was off was false.
A year ago, a Russian jet flew within 100 feet of a RC-135U over the Sea of Okhotsk in the western Pacific, according to US officials who called it "one of the most dangerous close passes in decades."
The Pentagon had complained to the Russia military about that incident.
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