London has claimed the encounter was the “most dangerous” incident since 2022
The UK Defense Ministry has claimed that two Russian fighter jets “dangerously” intercepted a British spy plane over the Black Sea, and released footage that it said showed the encounter. Moscow has consistently maintained that Russian pilots act in strict accordance with international law.
The video published by the British ministry on social media on Wednesday appears to show two Russian jets flying close to the aircraft. One of the jets appears to maneuver alongside the British plane, while another flies ahead of it before moving away.
The British ministry claimed that a “Russian Su-35 aircraft flew close enough to trigger emergency systems” aboard the reconnaissance plane, while a Su-27 fighter was “flying as close as six meters” from its nose. Defense Secretary John Healey accused the Russian pilots of “dangerous and unacceptable behavior… towards an unarmed aircraft” while admitting that the British plane was able to continue its mission without any issues.
A @RoyalAirForce Rivet Joint aircraft operating in international airspace over the Black Sea was dangerously intercepted by Russian military jets – flying as close as six metres and triggering onboard emergency systems.Despite these reckless manoeuvres, RAF crew completed their… pic.twitter.com/QyUP7dE4OJ
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 20, 2026
The RAF Rivet Joint aircraft involved in the incident is equipped with advanced electronic surveillance systems. London said that the aircraft had been conducting a “routine flight” over international waters in the Black Sea. The region has seen heightened military activity throughout the Ukraine conflict, including Ukrainian drone and Western-supplied missile strikes targeting Russian infrastructure.
Moscow has not officially commented on the British claims.
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NATO spy plane intercepted over Black Sea – MOD
Russian fighter jets have repeatedly fended off RAF spy flights over the Black Sea during the conflict. In July 2024, the Russian military had to scramble jets on two such occasions in just two days.
British spy planes had already ramped up their activity in the Black Sea region before the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022. In 2021, they conducted flights in the area just days before a Royal Navy frigate attempted to sail through Russian territorial waters past Crimea in what was later revealed to be a deliberate provocation.
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