The U.S. Air Force is complaining about showboating Russian fighter pilots who have done barrel rolls over its pricey reconnaissance planes twice in the last couple of weeks. The most recent incident was Friday when an SU-27 flew within 25 feet of an RC-135 sensor platform and turned inverted over the top of the converted Boeing 707 before lining up on the other side. “The SU-27 intercepted the U.S. aircraft flying a routine route at high rate of speed from the side then proceeded to perform an aggressive maneuver that posed a threat to the safety of the U.S. aircrew in the RC-135,” Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza told CNN.
On April 14, another SU-27 rolled from the left to the right of an RC-135, coming within 50 feet of the spy plane. What’s not clear is whether the pilots are being ordered to rattle the U.S. crews or whether they’re doing it for fun. However, Russian officials defended the earlier incident and there does seem to be a pattern developing. There were a couple of buzzing incidents on a U.S. warship earlier this month. In one case a Russian plane is thought to have come within 75 feet of an American missile destroyer.
