Pentagon: Russian Fighter Conducted ‘Unsafe’ Intercept of U.S. Recon Plane Over Black Sea

According to the Pentagon, a Russian Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker intercepted a RC-135U Combat Sent “flying a routine route in international airspace over the Black Sea.
The statement indicated the U.S. is “looking into this particular incident.”
The fighter came close and its thrust “disturbed the controllability” of the U.S. surveillance aircraft.
The intercept of the RC-135U – designed to record radar emissions from potential adversaries to develop countermeasures — is the latest of a string of incidents between NATO and Russian forces since Russia seized control of the Crimean region of Ukraine in 2014.
The incident is the latest in a string of intercepts since over the last two years that the Pentagon has deemed unsafe.
The Pentagon has labeled several intercepts of variants of the RC-135 surveillance planes over the Baltic, Black Sea and the Pacific Ocean at the edge of Russian controlled airspace as “unprofessional” and “provocative.”
In 2014 a Russian Sukhoi SU-24 Fencer made repeated passes over USSDonald Cook (DDG-75), a ballistic missile destroyer, while it was conducting operations in the Black Sea.
Later that year, the Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto was buzzed by Fencers operating in the Black Sea.
Russian officials have complained of the uptick in U.S. surveillance flights since 2014.
“US RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft carry out flights almost daily,” Col. Gen. Viktor Bondarev, commander-in-chief of the Russian Air Force, said in late 2014.
“In 2014, more than 140 RC-135 flights have taken place compared to 22 flights in 2013.”
usni

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raf.mod.uk

Russia SU-27 Fighter Flies Dangerously Close To USAF RC-135 Plane

A Russian fighter jet flew dangerously close to an American reconnaissance aircraft during an "unprofessional" intercept in international airspace over the Black Sea last month, the Pentagon said Friday.
The American RC-135 was conducting routine operations May 30 when a Russian SU-27 Flanker flew up from behind, passed underneath then crossed over to the American plane's right-hand side. "This intercept was conducted unprofessionally" . "It may have been a lack of training on the part of the Russian pilot. It may have been just a general level of unprofessionalism of the individual who was flying the Flanker", told USAF Spokeperson
The Russian plane came within just 10 feet of the US aircraft.
The US plane was intercepted a second time on the same flight, but that was deemed to have been done appropriately.
Russian and US planes routinely monitor each other's movements in international airspace, but this encounter is the latest in a series of incidents sparking concerns over how Russia carries out airborne intercepts.
On April 7, a Russian Flanker jet performed "aggressive manuevers" in close proximity to a US reconnaissance plane in an incident that occurred over the Baltic Sea, in international airspace north of Poland.
The US Navy last month posted a video on YouTube showing a Russian SU-24 jet flying close to the American guided-missile destroyer USS Ross in the Black Sea. The Navy said the Russian jet was not carrying weapons.
defensenews

UK RAF Has Been Flying RC-135 Over Northern Iraq

The UK has been secretly flying its most advanced surveillance aircraft, the newly acquired RC-135 Rivet Joint over northern Iraq during the humanitarian crisis there, the Defence Secretary has revealed.
sky

USAF RC-135 intrudes Swedish airspace to avoid being intercepted by Russian fighters

The Cold War aerial games of chicken portrayed in the movie "Top Gun" are happening in real life again nearly 30 years later.

A U.S. Air Force spy plane evaded an encounter with the Russian military on July 18, just a day after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was downed by a suspected surface-to-air missile that Ukraine and the West allege was fired by pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine.
The RC-135 Rivet Joint fled into nearby Swedish airspace without that country's permission. The airplane may have gone through other countries' airspace as well, though it's not clear if it had permission to do so.
The U.S. plane had been flying in international airspace, conducting an electronic eavesdropping mission on the Russian military, when the Russians took the unusual action of beginning to track it with land-based radar.
The Russians then sent at least one fighter jet into the sky to intercept the aircraft, the U.S. official said Saturday.
The spy plane crew felt so concerned about the radar tracking that it wanted to get out of the area as quickly as possible, the official said. The quickest route away from the Russians took them into Swedish airspace.U.S. officials acknowledged that was done without Swedish military approval.
As a result of this incident, the United States is discussing the matter with Sweden and letting officials know there may be further occurrences where American jets have to divert so quickly they may not be able to wait for permission.
The incident was first reported by the Swedish media group DN.se. Russian officials did not provide any immediate reaction about the encounter.
This was at least the second potentially-dangerous encounter between a U.S. plane and Russia over the past few months. On April 23, a Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter jet buzzed within 100 feet of the nose of a U.S. Air Force RC-135U reconnaissance plane over the Sea of Okhotsk between Russia and Japan.
Russian fighter jet nearly collided with U.S. military plane in April
Russian and U.S. aircraft often encounter each other, both in Northern Europe as well as the area between the Russian Far East and Alaska. But the official said the land radar activity by the Russians in this instance was unusual.
edition

Russian SU-27 Flew Within 100 Feet of USAF RC-135 in North of Japan

At the height of recent tensions between the US and Russia in April, an armed Russian fighter jet flew within 100 feet of a US Air Force RC-135U and taunted the intelligence-gathering aircraft with an aggressive maneuver over international waters north of Japan.
The April 23 incident involved a Russian SU-27 Flanker over the Sea of Okhotsk along Russia’s east.
The RC-135U is an aircraft retrofitted as a long-range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft.
The Russian fighter “crossed the nose” within 100 feet of the US aircraft and “turned a little bit to expose its belly” to the American pilots and show that it was armed with air-to-air missiles, officials said.
The pilots had no radio communication.
The incident prompted senior US military leaders to contact Russia and express concern.
It was at least the second provocative move by the Russian military in April.
On April 12, a Russian fighter jet made repeated, “provocative,” close-range, low-altitude passes above the US Navy destroyer Donald Cook while it was steaming in the Black Sea. In that incident, the Russian SU-24 Fencer did not appear to be carrying weapons.
defensenews

UK May Waive Rivet Joint Certification Requirements

Britain may waive its normal aircraft certification process to approve Royal Air Force operation of the RC-135W Rivet Joint.
The age of the Boeing 707-based airframe means Rivet Joint will not meet current or previous UK certification regulations in place before the MAA was formed in 2010.
The likely change to RC-135W certification requirements is contained in a report warning that shortages of qualified and experienced safety staff at DE&S could undermine military air safety.
DE&S, the procurement arm of the Ministry of Defence, purchased three RC-135Ws in a 2010 deal with L-3 Communications. L-3 is converting 50-year-old KC-135 tankers into the Rivet Joint configuration to replace Nimrod R1 aircraft taken out of service.
The first of the aircraft was delivered ahead of schedule in November, but it has yet to fly again. The plane, known in British service as the Airseeker, is on track to enter service at the end of this year.
Due to the age of the original Boeing 707 design and the unavailability of certain design and qualification evidence, it is unlikely that the full UK certification requirement will be satisfied and a waiver may be required.
defensenews

Hard-up RAF flies second-hand RC-135 jets in US air force colours to save £3million cost of repainting them in British colours

The RAF's new fleet of second-hand spy planes will fly in U.S. colours because defence bosses say it is not cost effective to repaint them.
Instead of the air force's uniform light grey, the three RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft, which were bought from the U.S., will keep their design of a white top, black nose and grey underside.
The Ministry of Defence said it would cost £3million to repaint them.
dailymail

U.K. Rivet Joint - First "Official" Picture

USAF Photographers have snapped the first RC-135 Rivet Joint destined for the U.K. Royal Air Force.
Tony Osborne-aviationweek

UK's first RC-135 Airseeker rolled out

L-3 Communications has rolled out the first UK Royal Air Force RC-135 Airseeker signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft, the US Air Force's intelligence chief has revealed.
"I was also, about three weeks ago, down in Greenville, Texas, at the L-3 facility with Big Safari [the USAF office overseeing the development of intelligence platforms], rolling out the first UK Rivet Joint," says Lt Gen Larry James. "Their chief of staff came down and we had a great ceremony there."
James says he expects the RAF aircraft to be an integral part of the "worldwide intelligence collection process" for both the UK and USA.
flightglobal

RAF’s first RC-135 will enter operational service in October 2014

The Royal Air Force's first of three Airseeker electronic intelligence aircraft will enter operational service in October 2014, following an on-time delivery in December 2013, one of the UK's defence ministers has confirmed.
Acquired for conversion from retired US Air Force Boeing KC-135 tankers by L-3 Communications in Greenville, Texas, the RAF's future Airseekers will be prepared and kept in a common configuration with the USAF's RC-135W Rivet Joint platforms.

alert5

flightglobal

UK facing certification challenge on RAF RC-135 Airseeker fleet

The UK will have to use additional methods to complete the certification of the Royal Air Force's future fleet of three RC-135 Airseeker signals intelligence aircraft.

The RC-135 Airseeker fleet will be operated by the RAF's 51 Sqn, and based at Waddington in Lincolnshire, east England, to replace the UK's retired British Aerospace Nimrod R1s.

flightglobal