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.

  • 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.