Venezuela’s Su-30 has intercepted an EP-3 Aries II spy plane of the US Navy causing a discontent among the US military.
On July 21, the U.S. Southern Command released a statement claiming that the EP-3 Aries II was approached in an “unprofessional manner” by a Venezuelan SU-30 Flanker-C fighter aircraft in “approved international airspace” on July 19.
“After reviewing video documentation, we have determined the Russian-made fighter aggressively shadowed the EP-3 at an unsafe distance in international airspace for a prolonged period of time, endangering the safety of the crew and jeopardizing the EP-3 mission,” the statement said.
The U.S. military said that it “was performing a multi-nationally recognized & approved mission in international airspace over #CaribbeanSea”.
According to the US side, the Venezuelan warplane “took off from an airfield 200 miles east of Caracas.” The statement didn’t provide additional details on how long the intercept lasted.
1 of 2 JUST RELEASED #Venezuela SU-30 Flanker “aggressively shadowed” a U.S. EP-3 aircraft at an unsafe distance July 19, jeopardizing the crew & aircraft. The EP-3 was performing a multi-nationally recognized & approved mission in international airspace over #CaribbeanSea. pic.twitter.com/edjmPqXbmP
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) July 21, 2019
Just imagine what would happen if it was Venezuela flying near the border of southern United States? US of Trump is saber rattling all around the world simultaneously, it’s becoming quite obvious what the endgame really is.
problem is that the dysfunctional states of A is spread so thin that they hardly pose threat any longer to anyone. the sanctions are as copious as hail and there is no way they can be implemented – they sanction and threaten and for the better part the world moves on without noticing the dysfunctional states of A any more. must be hard on the likes of the menaces fatso and bolton and dunny the dunce.
Internationally recognised & approved bullshit. Spy planes are spy planes. Aren’t spies shot when caught?
Why are there still no regulations preventing spy planes from spying outside a nation’s air space? The spying equipment invades the nation’s air space. Otherwise it would be a waste of time, effort and equipment to even be where they are.
Aggressive? The SU-30 was just bored and played around. Presenting the pilot with a nice close up view of the afterburner would be aggressive. The SU-30 didn’t even shake them with turbulence.
Oh please, the EP-3 was flying inside the Maiquetia FIR, which is operated and controlled by Venezuela. The Piarco FIR which is to the right is operated by Trinidad and Tobago and the Curacao FIR which is located to the left is operated by the Curacao and Aruba. Any pilot knows this. If you are not a pilot, then shut up. The EP-3 was in violation of the international law, they never contacted Maiquetia FIR. They are lucky the SU-30 didn’t activate the 30 mm cannon.