RAF incident sparks fears Russia could open fire if we keep turning a blind eye

Russian drone base before being struck by Ukrainian forces A Russian pilot attempted to shoot down a British spy plane over the Black Sea, it has emerged. The pilot wrongly believed he had permission to fire after receiving a vague command from senior officers. He fired a missile, but it failed to hit the target – an RAF surveillance plane. The RAF plane had been flying a surveillance mission in international airspace when it encountered two Russian SU-27 fighter jets. A Western defence source told the BBC the words the two pilots received were to the effect of “you have the target”. One interpreted this as tacit permission to shoot but the other did not, swearing at his wingman when he fired the first missile, according to the report. Sources said the language indicates a high degree of unprofessionalism by those involved and led to a fight between the two pilots. Last year, a Russian pilot attempted to shoot down a British spy plane over the Black Sea One reportedly launched an air-to-air missile, which failed to lock on to its target. Despite his comrade remonstrating with him, he then released another missile which fell from the wing, suggesting the weapon either malfunctioned or the launch was aborted, according to the report. The news sparked fears Russia could push NATO allies to back down in the region to avoid further escalation of the Ukraine conflict. Yorkshire Party Deputy Chair, David Herdson warned: “This came very close to being exceptionally serious. “Casual commands from the Russians, mixed with pilots’ everyday use of live weapons against live targets, could easily have killed up to 30 RAF personnel. That would have brought Article 5 into play. “The easy response would be withdraw from the area, to avoid the risk of future similar incidents. That would be the wrong call. “The aircraft there are doing an important job and are also entitled to be there. They cannot be allowed to be chased out by Russian recklessness. Trending SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info