Was Russian jet’s missile a warning to UK spy plane?
Defence sources have rejected Russia’s claims that a ‘technical malfunction’ caused one of its fighter jets to fire a missile close to a British spy plane.
They told the Daily Mail that the incident – revealed yesterday by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace – was more likely a Kremlin warning over Britain’s military support for Ukraine.
Mr Wallace told the House of commons that a SU-27 fighter jet had intercepted the intelligence-gathering aircraft over the Black Sea on September 29. The Russian jet fired a missile which missed the RAf Rivet Joint – an aircraft packed with sensors and software capable of intercepting Russian military communications.
Responding to an official complaint submitted by Mr Wallace, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu insisted the misfire was a mistake.
But defence sources cast doubt over Russia’s explanation, claiming the missile was fired deliberately.
Retired Rear Admiral chris Parry said:
‘Of course it wasn’t an accident’
‘Of course it wasn’t an accident. The incident displayed clear intimidatory intent. We are in a strategic conflict with Russia now. We need to be tougher and to face down these criminals.’
The incident closely resembled another hostile interaction between British and Russian forces in the same region in June 2021. Then, a Russian coastguard vessel fired machine gun rounds towards HMS Defender when the warship crossed its path in the Black Sea.
The captain of the Royal navy ship had previously ignored warnings that it could come under fire if it approached the coastline of the crimean peninsula – which has been occupied by Russia since 2014. The Russians opened fire once HMS Defender was out of range, ensuring no one aboard the warship was wounded.
The more recent incident may have been motivated by Russian concerns that the Rivet Joint was acquiring military intelligence which the UK would give to Ukraine. Defence expert francis Tusa said: ‘If I was in nato HQ, I’d be concerned there might be a turning point here.
‘RAf and US Rivet Joints fly “racetrack” flight patterns over the Black Sea, the Baltic and eastern Poland gathering intelligence. The role of the aircraft is to hoover up electronic transmissions and communications.
‘Do they subsequently pass such intelligence to the Ukrainians? Well, the rate Russian army HQs in the field seem to get hit by Ukrainian artillery seems to point in this direction. If the Russian air force is going to get more aggressive as regards to nato surveillance aircraft, close protection of these assets becomes a real issue.’
Mr Wallace said Rivet Joint patrols were suspended temporarily after the incident. They resumed with nato fighter jets accompanying the spy planes.
He said: ‘An unarmed RAf Rivet Joint, a civilian-style aircraft, on a routine patrol over the Black Sea was interacted with by two Russian SU-27 fighter aircraft. It is not unusual for aircraft to be shadowed and this day was no different.
During that interaction, however, it transpired one of the SU-27s released a missile in the vicinity of the RAf Rivet Joint beyond visual range. The total time of the interaction was approximately 90 minutes.
‘The patrol completed and the aircraft returned to base.’
Mr Wallace said: ‘everything we do is considered and calibrated with regard to the ongoing conflict in the region and in accordance with international law. We welcomed Russia’s acknowledgement this was in international airspace. The UK has conducted regular sorties with RAf
Rivet Joint over the Black Sea since 2019 and we will continue to do so.’
Mr Wallace added that, in a separate incident, a Russian jet had flown within 15ft of a nato aircraft. He described such behaviour as ‘reckless’ and ‘unnecessary’.
Rivet Joint missions are shrouded in secrecy. The aircraft’s 30- person crew customarily includes linguists, communications experts and technicians. The equipment they operate is strictly classified. The aircraft is 135ft long and can fly at 540mph.