Moscow, 13/4: A Russian fighter jet fired a missile at a manned British surveillance aircraft flying over the Black Sea in September but the munition malfunctioned, according to US defense officials and a recently leaked classified US intelligence report. The incident was far more serious than originally portrayed and could have amounted to an act of war.
According to two US defense officials, the Russian pilot had misinterpreted what a radar operator on the ground was saying to him and thought he had permission to fire. The pilot, who had locked on the British aircraft, fired, but the missile did not launch properly.
In October, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace described the close call in a briefing to Parliament members as “potentially dangerous” after the Russian fighter jet “released a missile in the vicinity” of the British aircraft. But one of the leaked documents said the Sept. 29 event was a “near-shootdown.”
The Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.