The U.S. Navy released more footage Wednesday of what it described as an unsafe intercept of a Navy aircraft by a Russian fighter jet over the Black Sea on Monday.
The released footage shows different angles of a Russian Su-27 Flanker maneuvering beside a U.S. Navy EP-3 Aries surveillance aircraft while flying in international airspace. In a statement accompanying the videos, the Navy noted that what is not shown in the released imagery is, during the intercept, the Russian jet "executed a hard right-to-left turn from the U.S. EP-3’s right side with an excessive closure rate and came within five feet of the EP-3’s right wingtip."
The State Department said Monday that flying in such close proximity to the Navy surveillance plane violated 1972 Agreement for the Prevention of Incidents On and Over the High Seas (INCSEA).
"These videos show the Russian Su-27 intercepting the EP-3 from a very close position, at the same altitude, and with an estimated wingtip-to-wingtip horizontal separation as little as five feet at times," U.S. Navy Capt. Bill Ellis, commander of Task Force 67, said in a press release. "For the Russian fighter aircraft to fly this close to the U.S. Navy aircraft, especially for extended periods of time, is unsafe."
"The smallest lapse of focus or error in airmanship by the intercepting aircrew can have disastrous consequences," Ellis added. "There is no margin for error and insufficient time or space for our aircrews to take corrective action."
By accusing Russia of breaching this treaty, the State Department is signaling a shift in how it handles such actions by the Russians. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the intercept was dangerous and demanded that Russia cease such actions.
"We call on Russia to cease these unsafe actions that increase the risk of miscalculation, danger to aircrew on both sides, and midair collisions," Nauert said.
Russia has denied any provocative action took place.
"The entire flight of the Su-27 was conducted in accordance with international regulations, and there were no emergency situations," Moscow's Defense Ministry said in a statement, according to state-run RT.
The intercept is just one of the recent military provocations by the Russian military in the region. Other Russian actions have included similar dangerous airplane intercepts as well as Russian jets buzzing a U.S. guided missile destroyer in the Black Sea.