An EP-3E ARIES (Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System) intelligence aircraft of the United States Navy was intercepted this morning (13) by a Russian Sukhoi Su-30 fighter while flying over the Black Sea.
According to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense, an unknown aircraft was detected by the airspace control of the Southern Military District, approaching the Russian border over the Black Sea. A Su-30 fighter was sent to prevent a border invasion and reconnaissance the aerial target, identified as an EP-3E ARIES.
Сопровождение самолета радиотехнической разведки и радиоэлектронной борьбы EP-3E «Арес» https://t.co/0cFrprXprp# Минобороны #VKS #Сопровождение #ЮВО pic.twitter.com/eOsBymi7yT
- Russian Ministry of Defense (@mod_russia) July 13, 2021
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The Ministry that the Su-30 escorted the aircraft and returned to the base as soon as the American plane moved away from the state border of the Russian Federation. the interception “was carried out in strict compliance with international rules for the use of airspace”, and the Russian border was not violated.
The EP-3 is a signals intelligence (SIGINT) version of the maritime patrol P-3 Orion used by the US Navy. The aircraft carries a multitude of systems, antennas and other equipment for capturing, interpreting and decoding electronic and communication signals. According to an article by specialist Sérgio Santana to the website Air Power, the EP-3E “it is manned by up to 24 occupants, of which 19 are specialists and has a range of over 5.000 km and autonomy of 12 hours.”
In 2019, an EP-3E ARIES was “aggressively” intercepted by a Venezuelan Air Force Su-30MKV fighter as it approached the country.
The EP-3E intelligence interception comes a week after a P-8A Poseidon was intercepted by a pair of Su-30SM fighters also in the Black Sea. The region is the focus of tensions between Russia and NATO, the US-led military alliance, after Russian soldiers fired warning shots at a British destroyer sailing through the region. After the incident, Russia trained air strikes against vessels in response to NATO's Sea Breeze naval air exercise.
