A Russian jet fighter intercepted a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane on Friday in an "unsafe and unprofessional manner" over the Baltic Sea, the Pentagon said, and CNN reported the Russian pilot did a barrel roll over the U.S. plane.
The U.S. Air Force RC-135 plane was flying a routine route in international airspace when it was intercepted by the Russian SU-27 fighter, the Pentagon said, in the latest in a series of similar incidents between the U.S. and Russian militaries.
The Russian fighter came within about 100 feet (30 meters) of the American plane as it performed the dangerous, high-speed maneuver, CNN reported, citing two U.S. defense officials in the Baltic Sea region.