• AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    But now three senior Western defence sources with knowledge of the incident have told the BBC that Russian communications intercepted by the RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft give a very different account from the official version.

    The RAF plane - with a crew of up to 30 - was flying a surveillance mission over the Black Sea in international airspace on 29 September last year when it encountered two Russian SU-27 fighter jets.

    Responding to these new revelations an MoD spokesperson said: “Our intent has always been to protect the safety of our operations, avoid unnecessary escalation and inform the public and international community.”

    The Russian pilot released an air-to-air missile, which successfully launched but failed to lock on to its target, the BBC has been told.

    Three weeks later, the UK government confirmed the incident had taken place - after an explanation from the Russian Ministry of Defence called it a “technical malfunction.”

    Despite the near shoot down, the RAF has continued to conduct surveillance flights over the Black Sea - a testament to the courage of the crews who narrowly avoided a disaster.


    The original article contains 938 words, the summary contains 185 words. Saved 80%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!