LONDON — Two Russian fighter jets "repeatedly and dangerously" intercepted an unarmed Royal Air Force (RAF) reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed on Wednesday.

The high-altitude encounter, which occurred in international airspace last month, has been condemned by London as the most severe and provocative action taken by the Russian military against a British surveillance flight in years.

According to defense officials, the unarmed RAF RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft—operated by No. 51 Squadron out of RAF Waddington—was conducting a routine electronic surveillance mission to support the security of NATO's eastern flank when it was closed upon by Russian Su-35 and Su-27 fighter jets.

During the encounter, the MoD reported two highly aggressive maneuvers by the Russian jets. First, a Russian Su-35 flew so close to the British reconnaissance plane that its wake and proximity triggered the Rivet Joint’s emergency defense systems, automatically disabling the autopilot. In a second engagement, a Russian Su-27 conducted six aggressive passes directly in front of the aircraft, at one point cutting across its nose at a distance of just six meters (19 feet) while traveling at speeds near 500 mph.

The MoD released a 12-second video snippet of the encounter to verify the aggressive proximity of the Russian jets. Despite the intense disruption, the U.K. defense ministry noted that the RAF crew remained calm and professional, successfully completing their planned intelligence gathering mission. British Defence Secretary John Healey strongly rebuked Moscow's actions, warning that such maneuvers could easily spiral out of control.

"This incident is another example of dangerous and unacceptable behaviour by Russian pilots, towards an unarmed aircraft operating in international airspace," Healey said in an official communique. "These actions create a serious risk of accidents and potential escalation."

Healey made it clear that the intimidation tactics would fail to alter British defense strategy, adding, "This incident will not deter the UK's commitment to defend NATO, our allies, and our interests from Russian aggression."

Following the release of the flight details, representatives from the MoD and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office formally summoned the Russian Embassy in London to officially condemn the pilots' behavior.

Military analysts note that this is the most perilous encounter over the Black Sea since September 2022, when a "rogue" Russian pilot misconstrued a ground command and fired two missiles near an RAF Rivet Joint. While Moscow claimed that previous incident was a "technical malfunction," Western intelligence later confirmed a missile had narrowly missed the British plane.

The timing of this latest mid-air confrontation comes amid heightened geopolitical frictions. Just weeks prior to the intercept, Defence Secretary Healey publicly detailed a extensive, month-long Royal Navy and RAF monitoring operation that successfully tracked three Russian submarines loitering covertly near critical undersea cables and pipelines in the North Atlantic.

The Black Sea remains a volatile theater as NATO forces continue regular airborne reconnaissance patrols to monitor Russian military movements tied directly to the ongoing war in Ukraine.