The British defence secretary has said a missile was released from a Russian aircraft near an unarmed RAF plane on patrol over the Black Sea
Ben Wallace says the “potentially dangerous” incident happened on 29 September in international airspace. Russia says it was the result of a “technical malfunction”.
UK patrols over the Black Sea were suspended but have now resumed and are escorted by a fighter jet following Russia’s response.
Mr Wallace told MPs the UK was not treating the incident as a “deliberate escalation”.
Mr Wallace said that during an “interaction” one of the SU-27 aircraft “released a missile in the vicinity of the RAF Rivet Joint beyond visual range”.
He said he expressed his concerns in a letter to the Russian defence minister.
