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.
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.
Yeah, I am comparing linear distance to surface area, but if we call that 66 mile distance a diameter, were talking about roughly 3500 sq miles…which is a rounding error compared to the vastness of the south china sea.
The south china sea is longer than it is wide, but even at its narrowest width between Phillipines and Vietnam, it’s over 550 miles across. That’s just incomparable to the distance between Florida and Cuba. Anything between Florida and Cuba is figuratively parked right in USA’s backyard.
I legit tried to find the exact location of this latest aerial encounter between China fighter pilot and allied forces aircraft (because you’re right, that’s relevant) but couldn’t find it…the info must either be classified or intentionally censored.