Sometimes it seems that the Russian Ministry of Defense doesn’t respond at all to the constant actions and pressure from NATO. And then, all of a sudden, you get these rather querulous articles in the British press.

The Guardian reports that a Russian Su-27 carried out dangerous maneuvers near a British RAF Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea:

A Russian jet flew within six metres of an RAF spy plane flying at 500mph over the Black Sea, one of two mid-air incidents last month described as “dangerous and unacceptable” by the defence secretary, John Healey.

An Su-27 jet conducted six passes in front of an unarmed RAF Rivet Joint flying close to its nose in mid April, risking a collision that could have caused a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

On a second occasion, also in mid April, a Russian Su-35 jet flew sufficiently close to the British spy plane that it set off its emergency systems, including disabling the autopilot, as the plane conducted a surveillance mission over international airspace.