A Russian warplane locked on to and fired a missile at a British military jet last year, and was only prevented from shooting it down due to a technical malfunction, leaked US intelligence documents showed.
The encounter between the Russian and British aircraft in international air space over the Black Sea on September 29, 2022 was reported by the UK government.
But information in the the leaked Pentagon files claim the incident was far more serious, the New York Times reports.
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The paper spoke with two unnamed US defence officials who backed accounts of the encounter from the Pentagon leaked material.
They said one of the pilots from a force of Russian Su-27 Flanker fighters sent to intercept the UK Royal Air Force RC-135 surveillance aircraft misheard an instruction from a ground based radar operator and believed he had permission to fire on the British plane.
US defence officials described the incident as "really, really scary" and a "near shootdown".
Last October, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told British MPs that the "unarmed RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint," was "interacted with" by two Russian Su-27s, which shadowed it for a bout 90 minutes.
One of the Russian fighters "released a missile in the vicinity of the RAF Rivet Joint [from] beyond visual range."
If the Russian fighter had shot down the British surveillance plane -which carries a crew of 30 - it would have risked the UK and its NATO allies retaliating.
Under the NATO founding treaty, the 31 nations agree that an armed attack against one or more of them would considered an attack against them all.
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And under the treaty every NATO member will help the country that has been attacked with any action it regards as necessary.
This week the UK Ministry of Defence warned about what it said was a "serious level of inaccuracy" in regard to allegations about the leaked US intelligence material concerning the Russia Ukraine war.
While not providing any specific details, the ministry tweeted that:
"Readers should be cautious about taking at face value allegations that have the potential to spread disinformation."
https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1645817692148883456?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwSince last September's incident, British and US aircraft have continued their flights over the Black Sea to gather intelligence. But the UK planes are now escorted by fighter jets, while the US have deployed drones.
Last month Russian warplanes downed an American MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle by dumping fuel on it and forcing it to crash.
On Thursday, US investigators arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guard member, over the leak of the classified Pentagon documents.
- Reported with Associated Press
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