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The original was posted on /r/worldnews by /u/spaceelision on 2023-09-14 07:43:19.
Rogue Russian pilot tried to shoot down RAF aircraft in 2022
Submitted 2 years ago by bot@lemmit.online [bot] to worldnews@lemmit.online
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-66798508
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 2 years ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
But now three senior Western defence sources with knowledge of the incident have told the BBC that Russian communications intercepted by the RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft give a very different account from the official version.
The RAF plane - with a crew of up to 30 - was flying a surveillance mission over the Black Sea in international airspace on 29 September last year when it encountered two Russian SU-27 fighter jets.
Responding to these new revelations an MoD spokesperson said: “Our intent has always been to protect the safety of our operations, avoid unnecessary escalation and inform the public and international community.”
The Russian pilot released an air-to-air missile, which successfully launched but failed to lock on to its target, the BBC has been told.
Three weeks later, the UK government confirmed the incident had taken place - after an explanation from the Russian Ministry of Defence called it a “technical malfunction.”
Despite the near shoot down, the RAF has continued to conduct surveillance flights over the Black Sea - a testament to the courage of the crews who narrowly avoided a disaster.
The original article contains 938 words, the summary contains 185 words. Saved 80%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!