Armed Russian jet comes within 5 feet of US recon jet
(FOX NEWS) - An armed Russian fighter jet buzzed a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft in the Baltic Sea on Monday, two U.S. officials told Fox News.
The Russian Su-27 jet had missiles under its wings and approached the U.S. Air Force RC-135 recon jet "rapidly," coming within five feet of the American aircraft, the officials said.
Once alongside, the Russian jet was "provocative" in its flight maneuvers and flying "erratically," according to another official.
Since June 2nd there have been over 35 interactions in the Baltic Sea region between U.S. and Russian jets and warships, but the incident Monday morning is notable because the U.S. military considered it "unsafe," according to one official.
The incident comes one day after the Russian Defense Ministry said it would treat any U.S. jet flying west of the Euphrates River in Syria as a potential target, following a U.S. Navy jet's shoot-down of a Syrian jet that was targeting U.S.-aligned fighters.