BREAKING: Defence Secretary Ben Wallace tells MPs that on September 29 an RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint spy plane was being shadowed by two Russian Su-27s in international airspace when one of the Su-27s "released a missle in the vicinity of the Rivet Joint"
Rivet Joint patrols were suspended, the Russians blamed a "technical malfunction" for the missile being released (?!). Patrols have restarted but the Rivet Joints are now escorted by fighter jets, MPs have been told
These sorts of incidents give ministers and military planners nightmares because the potential consequences of accidents and miscalculations are obvious and could, without anyone really wanting it, lead to escalation very quickly
Ben Wallace says "we don't consider this a deliberate escalation by the Russians" but adds it is "a reminder of quite how dangerous things can be when you choose to use fighters in the way the Russians have done"
Wallace adds: "We are incredibly lucky that it didn't become worse." He tells MPs of a separate incident where a Russian fighter jet came within 15ft of a NATO aircraft
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