Screenshot/YouTube via US Navy
- A Russian Su-27 intercepted a US Navy EP-3 over the Black Sea on Monday.
- The jet performed aggressive maneuvers and flew as close as 5 feet at times.
- The Navy has said in a statement that some of the jets' most aggressive actions were not caught on film.
A Russian Su-27 fighter jet intercepted a US Navy EP-3 Aries signals reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea on Monday, and it looks like the incident was particularly aggressive.
The air superiority fighter flew as close as five feet from the US aircraft. Footage released by the Navy shows that the jet was loaded for bear, and was flying "in close proximity and in varying positions."
But the Navy confirmed that some of the more aggressive maneuvers were not caught on camera.
"While not shown in the released imagery, during the intercept, the Russian Su-27 executed a hard right-to-left turn from the US EP-3's right side with an excessive closure rate and came within five feet of the EP-3's right wingtip," the Navy said.
"The Russian Su-27 then proceeded to enter the flight path of the US Navy EP-3, crossing within 10 feet and executing a sharp dive below, which resulted in violent turbulence for the US EP-3 and its crewmembers."
This is not the first tim a Russian jet has conducted aggressive maneuvers. Last November, a Russian Su-30 fighter flew as close as 50 feet before turning on its afterburners while intercepting a US Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine warfare aircraft over the same area.
The maneuver forced the plane to enter its jet wash and caused it to undergo a 15-degree roll, Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said at the time.
The US Navy has been conducting reconnaissance missions over the Black Sea at a high rate since the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014.