MOSCOW, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Russian fighter jets on Monday intercepted three U.S. and one British reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic and Black seas, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Russian airspace control systems detected an air target approaching the Russian border over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, the ministry's Zvezda broadcasting service said in a statement.
The crew of a Russian Su-27SM fighter approached the aerial object and identified it at a safe distance as a U.S. Air Force RC-135 strategic reconnaissance plane, Zvezda said.
Also on Monday, another Su-27 jet chased away a U.S. Air Force RC-135 plane, a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft and a British Royal Air Force Sentinel R1 reconnaissance aircraft, which were approaching Russia over the neutral waters of the Black Sea.
In the past few weeks, Russian jets repeatedly intercepted U.S. reconnaissance planes approaching the Russian border from various directions.
