Russia's defence minister Sergei Shoigu blamed a technical malfunction and Wallace, having spoken with other Russian defence officials, accepted the explanation and drew a line under the incident.īut leaked US military documents have now revealed that the missile launch came agonisingly close to striking the RAF aircraft in an incident that was described as 'a near-shoot down of UK RJ (Rivet Joint)'.Ī UK defence source meanwhile disputed this version of events, telling MailOnline: 'These reports contain inaccuracies and do not reflect what happened in International air space over the Black Sea,' referring back to Defence Secretary Wallace's comments to Parliament in October. On September 29, an RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft was flying through international airspace close to the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula when it was buzzed by a squadron of Moscow's Su-27 fighters.Īt the time, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace acknowledged the incident, telling Parliament that the Russian jets 'recklessly' came within 15ft of the RAF plane and one 'released a missile in the vicinity'. Central Command area of responsibility in Afghanistan back in May.A Russian fighter jet nearly shot down an RAF reconnaissance plane over the Black Sea last year, Western intelligence documents have revealed, i n an incident which could have drawn the UK directly into the Ukraine war. Assigned to the 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, this Rivet Joint was flying in support of the Resolute mission over the U.S. Air Force while refueling from a KC-135R Stratotanker. The RC-135 we have here was captured in the main photo of this piece, just released by the U.S. All of them are deployed with the Air Combat Command and, when not flying out of forward operating locations, based at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. Presently, there are just 17 of them in active service with the U.S. The plane can fly for as much as 3,900 miles (6,500 km) at altitudes that can reach 50,000 feet (15,240 meters). was involved in since the 1960s, including Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, the Iraq wars, and so on. Its crew is made up of up to 30 people, depending on mission requirements, meaning the pilots, electronic warfare officers, intelligence operators, and in-flight maintenance technicians.ĭespite being very discreet, the Rivet Joint took part in absolutely “every sizable armed conflict” the U.S. Air Force, the Rivet Joint is able to “detect, identify and geolocate signals throughout the electromagnetic spectrum” using a variety of sensors. Not boasting significant changes compared to the base plane when it comes to technical specification, this one does play an entirely different game when it comes to gadgetry.Īccording to the U.S. Based on the Boeing C-135, the Rivet Joint was born back in 1961 as a means to support military operations through surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
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