5 ft. from disaster

Tensions rise as Russia jet buzzes US military plane

An armed Russian fighter jet flew within five feet of an American reconnaissance plane — buzzing the aircraft over the Baltic Sea — just one day after a US jet shot down a Syrian warplane.

The Russian Su-27 was equipped with air-to-air missiles and was said to be flying “erratically” in international airspace Monday.

US officials told Fox News that the Su-27 approached the Air Force RC-135 “rapidly” and in a “provocative” manner before zipping away.

“Due to the high rate of closure speed and poor control of the [Russian] aircraft during the intercept, this interaction was determined to be unsafe,” Meghan Henderson, spokesperson for European Command, said in a statement to CNN.

Russia later claimed the US reconnaissance aircraft was “approach[ing] the Russian state border.”

“When being accompanied, the RC-135 plane made an attempt at approaching the Russian fighter jet, making a provocative turn towards it,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The close call came as tensions between the two superpowers continued to escalate over the US military’s decision the previous day to shoot down the Syrian Su-22 bomber, which according to officials had just dropped bombs near Syrian Democratic Forces fighting ISIS.

While American-led coalition forces have been backing the rebels, Russia has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which has been accused of using chemical weapons against civilians — including women and children.

The United States and Russia both claim to be in the region for the sole purpose of stopping the spread of ISIS, but many experts believe the two nations are caught up in a proxy war.

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called on the United States to give a “detailed explanation” why it shot down the Syrian warplane.

Russia later warned that it would be tracking US-led coalition aircraft as potential targets.

While Russia broke no international law with Monday’s fly-by, US military officials said the incident could lead to a breakdown in diplomatic relations.

“Russia is certainly within its rights to exercise in international airspace, but we want them to respect international standards for safety to avoid accidents.” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters on Tuesday.

“This is an exception, not a norm,” he said.