A Russian Su-30 fighter was escorted by a Poseidon P-8A reconnaissance aircraft of the US Navy over the Black Sea.

This was reported at the National Defense Management Center of Russia.

They said that on December 9, Russian airspace control devices spotted a target over neutral waters approaching the Russian state border.

To identify it, a Su-30 fighter from the air defense forces of the Southern Military District was raised into the air.

"The crew of the Russian fighter identified the air target as the US Navy P-8A reconnaissance aircraft and escorted it over the Black Sea," the department said.

After the American plane turned away from the state border of the Russian Federation, the Su-30 returned to the home airfield.

As a result of the violation of the state border that occurred, no violations were made.

"The flight of the Russian fighter was carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace over neutral waters without crossing air routes and dangerous rapprochement with an aircraft of a foreign state," the department stressed.

  • National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation

Recall that since the beginning of December, Russian fighters have repeatedly been forced to rise to escort foreign aircraft over the Black Sea waters.

So, on December 9, three Su-27s accompanied two tactical fighters Mirage 2000 and Rafale of the French Aerospace Forces, a CL-600 Artemis reconnaissance aircraft of the US Army, a strategic reconnaissance aircraft RC-135 of the US Air Force and a tanker aircraft KS-135 of the Aerospace Forces of France over the Black Sea ...

Prior to that, on December 8, Su-27s were also raised to accompany two tactical fighters Dassault Mirage 2000 and Dassault Rafale, as well as a C-135 tanker aircraft of the French Aerospace Forces.

  • RIA News

  • © Vitaly Timkiv

On December 3, Su-27 and Su-30 fighters took off - the reason was the approach to the state border of the US Air Force RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft and the CL-600 Artemis reconnaissance and target designation aircraft of the US Ground Forces.

On November 12, the radar systems of the anti-aircraft missile forces of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation detected and escorted six NATO reconnaissance aircraft in the Black Sea area per day.

Then the Ministry of Defense stated that the intensity of aerial reconnaissance of the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance near the Russian borders in the Black Sea continues to grow.

At the same time, on November 11, the Russian defense department, commenting on the growing activity of the United States and NATO in the Black Sea region, noted that they regard such actions as "studying the alleged theater of military operations in the event that Ukraine prepares a military solution to the conflict in the southeast."

"The conduct of this unscheduled exercise near our borders is absolutely unprovoked by Russia, the aggressive actions of the United States, posing a threat to regional security and strategic stability," the ministry said.

In recent years, Russia has repeatedly recorded attempts to violate Russian state borders by military aircraft and ships of NATO member countries.

Moscow drew attention to the provocative nature of such actions and called on the alliance countries to abide by the law.

In early November, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted that ships of foreign states with long-range precision weapons on board entering the Black Sea are trying to test Russia's defense capability in the Black Sea coast area.

Prior to this, the minister said that NATO, against the background of calls to contain Russia, is pulling forces to the country's borders.

In addition, at the end of November, Shoigu said that ten American strategic bombers, during the exercises of the US forces Global Thunder, were practicing the option of using nuclear weapons against Russia from the western and eastern directions.

“In all cases, our air defense assets timely detected American strategic bombers, established continuous monitoring and implemented measures to prevent incidents,” the minister said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also expressed concern about the buildup of NATO's military capabilities and infrastructure near Russian borders.

In particular, he stated that the strategic bombers of NATO countries fly 20 km from the Russian borders.

“They are known to carry very serious weapons.

Yes, we constantly express our concerns about this, we talk about red lines, ”the head of state said at an expanded meeting of the Foreign Ministry collegium.