A Chinese fighter jet came within 10 feet of an American B-52 bomber flying over the South China Sea, nearly causing an accident, the U.S. military says, underscoring the potential for a mishap as both countries vie for influence in the region.

A Chinese fighter jet came within 10 feet of an American B-52 bomber flying over the South China Sea, nearly causing an accident, the U.S. military said, underscoring the potential for a mishap as both countries vie for influence in the region.

In the night intercept, the Shenyang J-11 twin-engine fighter closed on the U.S. Air Force plane at an “uncontrolled excessive speed, flying below, in front of, and within 10 feet of the B-52, putting both aircraft in danger of a collision,” the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement released late Thursday.

“We are concerned this pilot was unaware of how close he came to causing a collision,” the military said.

  • Numberone@startrek.websiteEnglish
    833·
    10 months ago

    Imagine what the US would have done if a Russian nuclear capable bomber had been pstrolling the space between FL and Cuba at any point in our history? “Ahh they had bad manners around our death machine flying off their coast”. Grasping jangoistic pearls. The entitled outrage of empire right here.

    • rbesfe@lemmy.caEnglish
      61·
      10 months ago

      US fighter pilots are some of if not the most professional in the world. They would intercept it for sure, but at a safe distance and in a controlled manner.

      • Numberone@startrek.websiteEnglish
        515·
        10 months ago

        Right! I asked a hypothetical question, so you’re really hitting the nail squarely on the head.

    • krayj@lemmy.worldEnglish
      202·
      10 months ago

      There’s only 66 nautical miles of international water between FL and Cuba.

      The South China Sea is 1.3 million square nautical miles.

      You are a few orders of magnitude off for a rational comparison.

      • Numberone@startrek.websiteEnglish
        79·
        10 months ago

        You’re comparing linear distance to surface area of the south China sea. I’d be curious to know how close to Chinese airspace this bomber or group was flying. Fair enough though, if you think it’s not analagous we could open it up to the entire gulf of Mexico/Caribbean. It seems pretty clear to me that Chinese aircraft in that area would result in a tantrum that would probably escallate beyond tailgating.