A British spy plane was only saved from being shot down by the Russians when a missile malfunctioned, leaked spy documents show.
What would have been an act of war was narrowly averted after one of Vladimir Putin's pilots locked onto the RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint, which has a crew of up to 30.
According to the secret US intelligence report, the pilot was flying the Russian jet above the Black Sea, believing he had permission to fire.
The documents show that in their account of the incident, US defence officials say he misinterpreted what a radar operator on the ground was saying to him.
The documents offer detailed insights into which Russian intelligence agencies have been most compromised, and clues as to how the United States has gleaned so much secret Kremlin information.
ReutersHe thought he had been granted the permission, locked onto the spy plane and launched a missile, during the incident on September 29.
Fortunately the missile malfunctioned and a potentially catastrophic incident was averted.
One of the officials who was briefed on the encounter described what happened as “really, really scary.”
It comes after last year Defence Secretary Ben Wallace revealed a fighter jet fired a missile near the RC-135 Rivet Joint spy plane.
At the time, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace acknowledged the incident, telling Parliament that the Russian jets "recklessly" came within 15ft of the RAF plane and one "released a missile in the vicinity".
Wallace then revealed that during the 90-minute interaction off the coast of Ukraine, one of the Su-27s fired a missile near the RAF plane.
However, two US defence officials commenting on top secret intelligence documents leaked online told the New York Times that the incident was "far more serious than believed".
At the weekend, it was reported that the classified documents referred to the incident as a “near-shoot down of UK RJ", which is the name of the fighter jet.
The Ministry of Defence has, however, denied the account of the incident revealed in the documents.
“A significant proportion of the content of these reports is untrue, manipulated, or both” said an official from the Ministry of Defence.
Ben Wallace acknowledged the incident at the time
PA
“We strongly caution against anybody taking the veracity of these claims at face value, and would also advise them to take time to question the source and purpose of such leaks.”
Fresh revelations about the incident arise after a US drone was taken down while flying over the Black Sea near Russian occupied Crimea and the Ukraine frontline.
A Russian Su-27 jet struck the propeller of the MQ-9 Reaper drone resulting in it crash landing in the sea and its loss, the US European Command said.
Prior to the collision, two Su-27s had "dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9" in a "reckless" and "unprofessional" manner.