Russlands aggressive oppførsel

U.S. to file complaint over 'unsafe' intercept by Russian fighter jet

By Kevin Bohn and Steve Almasy, CNN

Updated 1222 GMT (1922 HKT) April 12, 2015

CNN)After a Russian fighter jet intercepted a U.S. reconnaissance plane in an "unsafe and unprofessional manner" earlier this week, the United States is complaining to Moscow about the incident.

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – A Russian Air Force flight demonstration team perform with their Su-27 jet fighters over St. Petersburg, Russia. An Su-27 "showed its belly" to a U.S. reconnaissance jet in April.

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Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – Russian Air Force Tu-95 bombers fly over Moscow's Red Square on May 7.

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Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – An F-15 Eagle from the 19th Fighter Squadron takes off at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. F-15 fighters intercepted Russian bombers off California in June.

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Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – A U.S. Air Force B-52, left, and a B-2 stealth bomber fly in formation over Shreveport, Louisiana. The United States deployed both types of aircraft to Britain in June.

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Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – The Spirit of Ohio, a B-2 bomber, takes off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Two B-2s were deployed to England in June.

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Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – A B-52 lands at an airbase in England on June 4. The B-52 was one of three to arrive.

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Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

An RC-135U Combat Sent, similar to this one, was intercepted in an "unsafe and unprofessional manner" earlier this week, the Pentagon says. The RC-35U provides strategic electronic reconnaissance information to the president, secretary of defense, Department of Defense leaders and theater commanders, according to the Air Force. Click through the gallery to see other U.S. and Russian planes.

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Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

An A-10 Thunderbolt II, from the 52nd Fighter Wing, 81st Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, flies during a NATO Operation Allied Force combat mission in the 1990s. The Air Force has announced that the planes are coming back to Europe as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.

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Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor, top, escorts a Russian Air Force Tu-95 bomber off the coast of Alaska during 2011.

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Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – British Royal Air Force jets intercepted this Russian Tu-95 Bear bomber in October.

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Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – Fighter jets from the Netherlands intercepted two Russian bombers in Dutch airspace in April.

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Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – A Russian Air Force flight demonstration team perform with their Su-27 jet fighters over St. Petersburg, Russia. An Su-27 "showed its belly" to a U.S. reconnaissance jet in April.

Hide Caption

6 of 11

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – Russian Air Force Tu-95 bombers fly over Moscow's Red Square on May 7.

Hide Caption

7 of 11

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – An F-15 Eagle from the 19th Fighter Squadron takes off at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. F-15 fighters intercepted Russian bombers off California in June.

Hide Caption

8 of 11

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – A U.S. Air Force B-52, left, and a B-2 stealth bomber fly in formation over Shreveport, Louisiana. The United States deployed both types of aircraft to Britain in June.

Hide Caption

9 of 11

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – The Spirit of Ohio, a B-2 bomber, takes off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Two B-2s were deployed to England in June.

Hide Caption

10 of 11

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – A B-52 lands at an airbase in England on June 4. The B-52 was one of three to arrive.

Hide Caption

11 of 11

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

An RC-135U Combat Sent, similar to this one, was intercepted in an "unsafe and unprofessional manner" earlier this week, the Pentagon says. The RC-35U provides strategic electronic reconnaissance information to the president, secretary of defense, Department of Defense leaders and theater commanders, according to the Air Force. Click through the gallery to see other U.S. and Russian planes.

Hide Caption

1 of 11

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

An A-10 Thunderbolt II, from the 52nd Fighter Wing, 81st Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, flies during a NATO Operation Allied Force combat mission in the 1990s. The Air Force has announced that the planes are coming back to Europe as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.

Hide Caption

2 of 11

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor, top, escorts a Russian Air Force Tu-95 bomber off the coast of Alaska during 2011.

Hide Caption

3 of 11

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – British Royal Air Force jets intercepted this Russian Tu-95 Bear bomber in October.

Hide Caption

4 of 11

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – Fighter jets from the Netherlands intercepted two Russian bombers in Dutch airspace in April.

Hide Caption

5 of 11

Photos: U.S. and Russian military aircraft 11 photos

U.S. and Russian military aircraft – A Russian Air Force flight demonstration team perform with their Su-27 jet fighters over St. Petersburg, Russia. An Su-27 "showed its belly" to a U.S. reconnaissance jet in April.

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EXPAND GALLERY

On Tuesday, a U.S. RC-135U was flying over the Baltic Sea when it was intercepted by a Russian SU-27 Flanker. The Pentagon said the incident occurred in international airspace north of Poland.

The U.S. crew believed the Russian pilot's actions were "unsafe and unprofessional due to the aggressive maneuvers it performed in close proximity to their aircraft and its high rate of speed," Pentagon spokesman Mark Wright said.

Russian state news agency Sputnik reported the U.S. plane was flying toward the Russian border with its transponder switched off, according to a Defense Ministry spokesman. Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the Russian jet flew around the U.S. plane several times to identify it and get its tail number.

An official with the U.S. European Command said the claim that the transponder was off was false.

Wright said the Pentagon and State Department will "file the appropriate petition through diplomatic channels" with Russia.

This is not the first time the U.S. has complained about an incident involving a RC-135U and a SU-27. A year ago, a Russian jet flew within 100 feet of a RC-135U over the Sea of Okhotsk in the western Pacific, according to U.S. officials who called it "one of the most dangerous close passes in decades." The Pentagon complained to the Russia military about that incident.