An RAF Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft was repeatedly and dangerously intercepted by two Russian jets over the Black Sea last month, with one pass bringing a Russian Su-27 within six metres of the British aircraft’s nose, the Ministry of Defence has stated.
The incident, described by the MoD as the most dangerous Russian action against a UK Rivet Joint since 2022, involved two separate intercepts. A Russian Su-35 flew close enough to trigger emergency systems on the Rivet Joint, including disabling the autopilot. In a separate intercept, a Su-27 conducted six passes in front of the British aircraft, on one occasion closing to within six metres of the nose.
The Rivet Joint was conducting a routine flight in international airspace and was unarmed. The RAF crew completed their planned mission despite the intercepts. This week, representatives from the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office summoned the Russian Embassy to condemn the behaviour.
Defence Secretary John Healey paid tribute to the crew while making clear the incident would not alter British policy. “This incident is another example of dangerous and unacceptable behaviour by Russian pilots, towards an unarmed aircraft operating in international airspace. These actions create a serious risk of accidents and potential escalation. I would like to pay tribute to the outstanding professionalism and bravery of the RAF crew who continued with their mission despite these dangerous actions. Let me be very clear: this incident will not deter the UK’s commitment to defend NATO, our allies and our interests from Russian aggression.”
The intercepts took place days after Healey publicly exposed what he described as nefarious Russian submarine activity near critical underwater infrastructure in the North Atlantic, where British personnel, ships, and aircraft were deployed alongside allies. The MoD said the latest incident came amid continued Russian aggression and heightened military activity in Eastern Europe and the High North.
The RAF Rivet Joint is a signals intelligence and electronic surveillance aircraft operated by 51 Squadron from RAF Waddington. The platform uses advanced sensors to monitor electronic emissions, enhancing situational awareness for NATO forces. The 2022 incident referenced by the MoD involved a Russian aircraft firing a missile in the vicinity of a Rivet Joint over the Black Sea, which at the time prompted a formal diplomatic protest.
What happened with the Typhoon escorts? Assume withdrawn.
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Scandalous no less but unsurprising.
Needs to be asked in Parliament at Defence Ministers Questions or an Urgent Question tabled. Whoever withdrew the Typhoon escort needs a boot up the backside.
Yes, given what went on before. I assume, with our lack of assets and the Typhoon force committed elsewhere that choice was made.
Historically, as you’ll know, RC135s have operated around the periphery of Russia / USSR for decades through the Cold War, a Rivet was up off Kamachatkha for example, the night Korean 007 was shot down over Sakhalin.
So this sort of thing isn’t new. Whether Soviet aircraft sometimes reacted in this dangerous way, who knows, they probably did on occasion, there were examples of USAF types being rammed to force them to land.
I’m not aware of the USAF ever arming their Rivets either, and with the SR71, U2, TR1 there was obviously no need, too fast and high!
I remember the Chinese did something similar with that P8 a few years ago.
A dangerous game, if there’s no escort possible do you suspend flights? Not for me, as that gives Russua the success it wanted.
Use other NATO escorts, well, maybe, if they have the legs, which they probably don’t, Eastern Europe lacks fighters.
Oftentimes I suspect some of this 5 eyes area is so secretive even ENATO is excluded.
If you replaced the Rivet with a Drone type they’d just shoot down or knock it out the sky like they did with the Reaper.
Difficult choices?
Would a Typhoon escort potentially escalated things? I appreciate the unprofessional and reckless behaviour of the Russian pilots but i do wonder what could have happened if a pair of Typhoons were in the mix. Perhaps it would have prevented the interception entirely or forced more professional behaviour from the Ruskies.
I reckon a lone civil airliner sized plane that can’t quickly evade or do anything to threaten you is, is the sort of dream intercept to harass… Try to the same things like this intercept with two or more Typhoons nearby, shit, some Romanian F-16s would be nice to see up there in a supporting role. The mere view of them would make a Russian pilot question if they want to be very dumb.
We should be able to provide a Typhoon escort for the Rivet Joints operating around Russia given the numbers we have in service. If not, then redirect Typhoons from wherever they are currently being used, our servicemen are at risk.
Supporting Ukraine though providing intelligence from these flights helps keep them in the fight.
It was too close a call last-time when the Russians fired at one.
Unfortunately the Russia of today is more dangerous that the USSR of old, being both more aggressive and more incompetent.
Last paragraph the absolute key point, yes, very much so.
The Politburo had some restraint and checks and balances.
What with the heavy commitment in the Middle East and Cyprus a decision has obviously been made not to provide top cover. The Typhoon fleet are flying thier hours off and cannot be in 2 places at once. A testament to the woeful size of the RAF.
On this, I agree.
Regardless of the endless excuses around technology, a plane cannot be in two places at once.
It’ll only get worse.
When the serviceability rate of the Typhoon declines you know there are problems.
Yes, what a great idea withdrawing the T1 Typhoons was aswell
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I hope they got a nice close look at its EM signature! Surely there are all sorts of things that can be detected that close?
Is Russia seeking a provacation here? Can the Rivet Joint send out a nice friendly “zap”? And should these aircraft and the P8s and E7s be armed with ASRAAMs at least?
Nimrod was armed with Sidewinder in 82 so why not? One up the pipe for Ivan would be a perfect response. As for the Typhoon escort? Must have been on diversity training that day.
Ah yes, never mind that from the nearest NATO airbase in Romania to the Russian Black Sea coast is 900km plus the extended loiter time making it impossible for a Typhoon to escort without aerial refuelling massively increasing the cost of the mission, it must have been diversity.
There’s these things called “external fuel tanks” that can extend the rang of an escorting plane. Especially if the “combat load” is just some A2A missiles.
Then you have to find a volunteer for an extremely boring 12-hour flight in a single cockpit.
It’s paid time and I’m sure you can find some pilots that want to get their hours up and in a place where there job will be to protect their unarmed RAF fellows.
They already carry external tanks. The distances are huge. You would also require Voyager cover. Probably 2 Voyagers.
Thankfully, the Voyager is already able to travel there and back as part of it’s Civil Airliner range. It’s only a 1,500 mile trip out there, double it for the return, it still leaves approx 4500 miles of range left, so that’s all fuel that can be offloaded to other aircraft, so two Typhoons on extended range amounts can still top up their tanks and remain with the Spy plane throughout it’s patrol.
And if you want some time/fuel savings, then have the RAF Voyager and Typhoons be forward deployed to RAF Akritori and RV with the Rivet Joint in NATO airspace, then top up the tanks and conduct the patrol.
At the end of the patrol, the Rivet Joint still needs a US tanker to fuel it up, so that tops it up for the trip home.
Ah yes, the lunacy of so many of our own types needing boom refueling which we cannot provide.
What is the score now, E7, P8, C17, Rivet?
And the ER Chinooks we are getting, do they have the probes fitted? If so, nothing to refuel them without modifying an Atlas?
Can’t modify the Atlas owing to a clause in Air Tanker’s contract to be the exclusive provider of Underwing Refuelling to the RAF. See below sources on that, madness.
(In case the other comment isn’t passed by moderation), For more on what I mean, search for “UK confirms new Chinooks to get aerial refuelling equipment” published 27 Feb 2026 on this here publication… And read the commercial BS we’re signing onto and no one has seen fit to outright buy these planes or something.
I understood it differently?
Voyager contract applied to fixed wing assets, not rotary.
Voyager cannot refuel rotary, therefore no penalty if we get off our arses and pay for the capability.
The ER chinooks do have probes but we will be dependent on US C130 support unless we buy the A400 kits, yes.
Replace the old Rivet with a new Voyager and transfer the radar kit across.
Problem with that mate is then we’ve got ww3 on our hands, and the end of manned aerial ELINT gathering, as any subsequent flights would just be shot down in retaliation if not escorted.
And if they are escorted, well, one miscalculation…
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Time to call that toad in from the Russian Embassy and tell him and his staff to pack their bags. It only takes 1 nation to make that kind of statement and I’m sure a lot of other EU countries just might do something similar as the Russians continue their grey war in Europe.
Pointless even talking to them, all they do is deny and deflect.
We’re talking about the Russian Embassy staff, not our Government
So from reading this article I’m assuming no Typhoon Escorts which is no surprise with the RAF been so short on fighters etc .This is bloody madness and typical Russian intelligence 🍌 May of been a blessing has one of our Top Guns may of took action and then what ? However up against say a Polish Aircraft with Escorts ? Red’s won’t be going home.
If the Typhoons had been there I bet the russians wouldn’t of pulled this stunt. Seeing a lone Rivet Joint was probably too much temptation. Agreed that they wouldn’t dare mess with the Poles.
Don’t we learn? How long ago was it a orc jet nearly shot a rivet joint down!
Thats just it, we don’t learn. The Russians have been pushing the envelope on multiple occasions and all we do is send the Embassy a letter saying we ain’t happy or send a few of their staff home. We need to be playing their game, it’s the only one they understand.
And what exactly do you want us to do? We intercept their aircraft and they intercept ours. The Rivet Joint crews will have seen it all before.
Can we put a couple of short range franken AA missiles on the rivet joint? Use an iPad like the Ukrainians to launch it ? Maybe accidentally launch a missile post turbulence if they get too close. No need for escorts then they will back off?
Are any ELINT aircraft armed that way? I’m not aware of any, or of the USAF ever arming their bigger recc aircraft.
Nimrods in 1982 is the famous example.
It seems like a sensible idea especially if Tempest produces dedicated anti-missile missiles as an MBDA graphic implied.
Were the Nimrods armed any of the 3 R1s, or the more common MPA types? I don’t recall, only that “Nimrod” got Sidewinder.
Google says they were MR.2s, for the purpose of hunting Argentine 707 snoopers.
Yes, this has happened countless times through the Cold War and after. How many intercepts were flown in a dangerous aggressive manner isn’t possible to find out unless it’s in the archives in Kew. And being intell related, they’ll be exempt. Russians used to ram on occasion, an airliner was forced to land near Murmansk due to that, and a USAF type rammed and crashed over Armenia I think it was.
Nothing new, only the headlines and the outrage online.
This Incident happened many weeks ago, that’s what It says above, These aircraft fly almost every day and have done for many years, these Intercepts also happen many times. Typhoons do not escort them on every trip. We’d be broke sending Typhoons and Tankers on these trips every time. We’d have to land In Russia to top up with Aviation Fuel !!!!
I bet that blew a few Rivets out.
The wee RAF act in exactly the same way when Russian aircraft fly in international airspace around the British Isles.
I doubt it very much. Now passing across the nose in that way. Wingtip maybe, or under the tail to wave at the rear gunner.
I think the RAF are a tad more professional with there airmanship.
Utterly wrong Ivan. We have professional pilots not conscripted peasants flying our warplanes.
ULYA…..
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I wonder if they took a Polaroid?
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Does RAF/RN send pilots to USN Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Program (aka TOP GUN)? 🤔
Autocorrect strikes again … TOPGUN. 🙄
The obvious answer is to have Ukraine flying escort flights.
That would just give Russia the excuse they want to shoot it down.
Meanwhile Starmer buys dirty money Ivan diesel and jet fuel…..usual Fabian Communist/Lawyers Cabal double standards.
Well of course the Russians are going to keep doing stuff like this since there are never any consequences.
They buzz NATO planes, breach NATO airspace and even send the occasional drone or missile into the baltics or poland.
Russia knows NATO is gutless, so unless we do a Turkey and start firing on any incursion or threaten to fire on planes that get too close to our own planes, NATO will forever be perceived as spineless in Putins eyes.
Well, they know they can mess with the UK and get away with it.
They know we have no land-based ABM systems and weak air defences against drones and cruise missiles.
And if push comes to shove, I doubt if our NATO allies would rush into battle on our behalf.
They haven’t messed with turkey since entering their airspace.
Did we send them a stronly worded email?, well thats that then. They won’t do that again. What a bunch wet weak leaders we have, stop the goast fleet by boarding them Starmer said, so we did nothing, we always back down thats why Russia does these things because we are too weak stand up to her.
Not in any way wanting to provoke a war but come on, Russia does what it wants why we cry about it then, let it happen again.
Russian pilots have long been gung ho nutters – and Ukrainians too in the interests of fairness; The reckless craziness of their display pilots entertained crowds at airshows back in happier times but that ended in tears a few times