The US P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance plane was approaching the Russian state border in the Black Sea, according to Moscow. The Russian military had to scramble a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft (NATO reporting name: Flanker-C) on November 25 after detecting an aerial target approaching the Russian border, the Russian Southern Military District’s press service said in a statement.In the wake of the incident, CNN reported, citing Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza, that Russia’s Su-30 had made an “unsafe” intercept of a US P-8A Poseidon maritime, patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. US European Command Spokesman Juan Martinez explained that the maneuver was dubbed “unsafe” since the Russian jet made a close approach with full afterburners on, while the P-8A was “conducting a routine operation in international airspace”.
