The delicate balances that exist in conditions of war like the one being waged in Ukraine are confirmed by the revelation of a “thriller” that unfolded in September 2022 over the Black Sea when a Russian pilot in a Sukhoi Su-27 tried to shoot down a British spy plane with a crew of 30.

Although at the time the Russian Ministry of Defense attributed the launch of the two missiles to a “technical error” – a version accepted by London – British media reports today suggest that the Russian pilot’s action was deliberate and the downing was only avoided because of a misfire!

The BBC, citing three Western defense sources, reports that intercepted Russian conversations recorded by the RAF’s RC-135 show that the Russian pilot believed he had been given permission to shoot down the British plane carrying 30 people on a controversial “order” from a Russian base.

However, the co-pilot of the Sukhoi SU-27 didn’t understand the same and ended up cursing the co-pilot when he fired the first missile in the incident that happened on September 29, 2022.

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According to one of the sources cited by the BBC when the Russian fighter approached the RAF spy plane, its pilots heard a command along the lines of “you have the target”, a phrase which one of the two interpreted as a “green light” to launch the missiles.

“The controversial way in which the order was given shows a high degree of amateurism by those involved,” the same sources pointed out, explaining that in NATO member states the language used in the event of a request to fire is very precise and clear.

“Did you realize what you did?” the pilot reportedly told the co-pilot, who despite this reaction pressed the button to launch the second of the air-to-air missiles which – fortunately – missed their target!