A Russian military jet came within about 20 feet of a U.S. Navy Poseidon surveillance plane while it was flying in international air space over the Black Sea near Crimea, the Pentagon said on May 12.
The Russian jet was armed with six air-to-air missiles, making this episode "highly provocative," one official said, as it is very rare for a Russian jet to intercept a U.S. aircraft while visibly armed.
Otherwise, the encounter was "safe and professional," the Pentagon said.
The incident occurred on May 10, one day before Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, the Pentagon said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Su-30 jet carried out a "greeting maneuver," and after that the U.S. surveillance plane changed its course and flew away from the Russian border.
The aircraft were operating 65 miles south of the Sea of Azov, which separates Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea.