UK says surveillance plane dangerously intercepted by Russian jets last month

LONDON - Two Russian jets last month intercepted a British Royal Air Force surveillance plane over the Black Sea, in what Britain's defence ministry said on Wednesday was a dangerous incident that raised the risk of potential escalation between NATO and Russia.

• The UK Rivet Joint aircraft was unarmed and carrying out routine surveillance in international airspace over the Black Sea, the ministry said in a statement.

• It was repeatedly intercepted by a Russian Su-35 aircraft, which flew close enough to trigger emergency systems on the British plane, it said. A Russian Su-27 conducted six passes, flying six metres from the Rivet Joint's nose.

• The incident was the most dangerous Russian action against a UK surveillance plane since 2022 when a nearby Russian plane released a missile over the Black Sea, in what Moscow later called a technical malfunction.

• RAF planes routinely carry out surveillance with allies to secure NATO's eastern flank.

• This week there has been a series of security incidents in the Baltic region, with a drone violating Lithuanian airspace, and a fighter jet shooting down a suspected Ukrainian drone over Estonia.

• Earlier this year, Britain deployed military vessels to prevent attacks on cables and pipelines by Russian submarines that spent more than a month in and around UK waters.

(Reporting by Sarah YoungEditing by Gareth Jones)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 9:02 AM.