US officials say a Russian jet shot down a British spy plane because of a communications error.
ELast September, a Russian jet fired a missile at an unarmed British fighter jet over the Black Sea. Russia acknowledged the incident and said it was a technical glitch.
However, a leaked classified intelligence report suggests that the incident was more serious than a simple “technical glitch”. The New York Times. The incident may even amount to an act of war.
In fact, according to two US defense officials, the Russian pilot misinterpreted what a radar operator on the ground was telling him and believed he had permission to fire on the British plane. The pilot fired, but the missile did not launch properly.
Last October, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace called the incident “potentially dangerous” during a briefing in Parliament.
When asked about the massive document leak, a British security official said: “The content of these articles contains a significant amount of forgery, manipulation or both. We strongly advise against anyone taking the veracity of these claims at face value and advise them to take the time to question the source and purpose of these leaks.
“Total coffee junkie. Tv ninja. Unapologetic problem solver. Beer expert.”