BBC says Russian fighter jet pilot deliberately fired on British surveillance plane in September 2022

A Russian Su-27 fighter jet pilot allegedly tried to shoot down a British Royal Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance plane, according to the BBC. It appears that the pilot believed he had received authorisation to fire, which he did twice. The first missile would have missed its target, contrary to the official version given by Russia last September, which mentioned a “technical malfunction”.

Three senior Western defence sources have reportedly confirmed to the BBC that Russian communications were intercepted and that they give a very different story.

On September 29, 2022, the Royal Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft was carrying out a surveillance mission over the Black Sea when it encountered two Russian Su-27 fighters. Only one of the two pilots fired an air-to-air missile, apparently following an ambiguous order from their ground controller. The words received by the pilots were, according to a source cited by the BBC, “You have the target”. The missile was successfully launched but did not hit its target. It is therefore a miss, not a malfunction.

The Russian pilot was then reprimanded by his colleague in the second plane, who had not interpreted the order in the same way. Despite this exchange, the first pilot fired a second missile, which fell from the wing – suggesting the weapon either malfunctioned or that the launch was aborted.