Chinese fighter jet got within 10 feet of US bomber over South China Sea, US military says

A Chinese fighter jet came within 10 feet of a US Air Force B-52 bomber flying over the South China Sea on Tuesday, according to the US military.

The Chinese pilot “flew in an unsafe and unprofessional manner, demonstrated poor airmanship by closing with uncontrolled excessive speed, flying below, in front of, and within 10 feet of the B-52, putting both aircraft in danger of collision,” US Indo-Pacific Command said in a Thursday statement. “We are concerned this pilot was unaware of how close he came to causing a collision.”

News of the latest Chinese intercept comes as President Joe Biden is expected to speak with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when he visits the White House on Friday, CNN reported on Thursday. It is not clear whether the meeting will be a formal discussion or a more informal meet and greet. Wang is also expected to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday and national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday.

SuperJetShoes,

Presumably the pilot would have been ordered to do this. To what end? Why?

Yes China, we know you want Taiwan back. Either commit to solid action or don’t. This bizarre behaviour just risks lives and expensive aircraft.

Seriously, what’s the point?

Hobbes,

How many houses for poor people could that interaction have paid for?

SCB,

China can just forcibly move people whenever they want so this isn’t really a concern for them.

nutsack,

this is fucking normal it’s not fucking news stop posting it

kick_out_the_jams,

aircraft within 10ft of each other is not safe.

if it's that normal it's a simple matter of time until an accident.

Modern_medicine_isnt,

He was just communicating

Charlie: Well, if you were directly above him, how could you see him? Maverick: Because I was inverted. Iceman: [coughs] Bullshit. Goose: No, he was, man. It was a really great move. He was inverted. Charlie: You were in a 4G inverted dive with a MiG-28? Maverick: Yes, ma’am. Charlie: At what range? Maverick: About two meters? Goose: Well, it’s actually about one and a half, I think. It was one and a half. I’ve got a great Polaroid of it, and he’s right there, must be one and a half. Maverick: Was a nice picture. Goose: Thanks. Charlie: Eh, Lieutenant, what were you doing there? Goose: Communicating. Maverick: Communicating. Keeping up foreign relations. I was, you know, giving him the bird. Goose: You know, the finger

rivermonster,

I dread how badly China is craving FAFO. It’s going to be such an unnecessary loss of life, and China will end up in ruins–not that it’s doing well now.

Hardeehar,

FAFO?

Zron,

Fuck Around, Find Out

Hardeehar,

Thanks. I’m stealing it.

ultimitchow,

The elites don’t want you to know this but the words on the internet are free you can take them home I have 458 words.

HerbalGamer,

holy shit

Zevlen,

Plus You found out …

:P

rbesfe,

The Chinese military is severely lacking in accountability and professionalism. The pilots think this kind of flying projects skill, when really it shows their incompetence.

Zevlen, (edited )

Lol… All the dumb downvotes these days… At least reply after a downvote to explain why You downvoted in the first place. Annoying 😞 but funny 😂🤣

Edit: how’d I get more downvotes then the messages below? 👇 🤣😂

Guest_User,

No

vaultdweller013,

Fuck you thats why.

bemenaker,

This is completely not true. It does not show incompetence whatsoever. Quite the opposite actually. Dangerous, reckless, unprofessional, yes. But at those speeds, it takes skill to get that close, and not be pulled into the other plane and crash, when the other plane is not actively participating in the stunt. That’s why the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels, and every other stunt team in the world practice for 100’s of hours on this. It is not easy to do in any case. Bernoulli’s principle makes it get more difficult the faster you are moving. That is why a chinese pilot crashed into an E3 years ago, when he tried to pull the same crap.

dditty,

A professional would recognize the slim margin for error and numerous things that could go wrong and just not do this type of crazy stunt at all

bemenaker,

As I said it’s unprofessional, but to do it and not crash does take skill. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t stupid as it is.

TokenBoomer,

At least we know it’s not the Grinch, because that’s much closer than 39 1/2 feet.

Coreidan,

And? They’ve been doing this shit for 20+ years and nothing ever comes of it.

Everythingispenguins,

Exactly. The Chinese pilot who collided with the Navy EP-3 was honored. He was pretty dead at the time but none the less. The Chinese want their pilots to fly like this.

rockSlayer,

Fearmongering because we’re in a second cold war with China. That’s what this is.

SCB,

China is so reliant on the US economy that the odds of a war with China are exceptionally low.

Considering US/China relations a cold war and not just dick waving is a massive exaggeration of Chinese capabilities.

rockSlayer,

Do you think that the cold war with the USSR was announced by Congress or something? A cold war doesn’t mean it will go hot; we never waged war with the USSR.

SCB,

A cold war is very specifically a situation that could go hot at any time. If that possibility does not exist, you are not in a cold war, you are geopolitical rivals.

The hint is in the name. Cold war.

Dkarma,

how dare China fly a plane in checks notes the South China sea

blackbelt352,

There’s flying, and the there’s flying like a moron. No matter where you are, in your own air space or someone else’s, flying like a moron is a terrible idea.

1024_Kibibytes,

Traveling within 10 feet of another vehicle where the speeds are measured as a percentage of the speed of sound (Mach) is definitely flying like a moron.

theyoyomaster,

Not always, I fly 10 feet away from another plane all the time. The difference is we planned it from the beginning and are both actively participating.

1024_Kibibytes,

True, but that is well planned, both pilots probably meet before the flight, I think, and actually discuss the whole routine including the distance, because unexpected turbulence and a dozen other factors can throw the plan off, whereas fighter jet meets B-52 without any plan or possibly even contact, at 400+ knots is a bad idea.

theyoyomaster,

Absolutely, intercepts have prescribed international standards that must be observed to ensure safety of flight. I was just commenting that it’s not always a bad idea if done correctly.

SheeEttin,

And you practice doing that with those pilots.

WarlockLawyer,

As long as they don’t go anywhere in the Indian Ocean.

nicetriangle,
@nicetriangle@kbin.social avatar

This happened in international airspace. Doesn't matter what the body of water is called. The entirety of the gulf of Mexico doesn't belong to Mexico either. Nor does the Indian ocean belong to India.

Also the China Sea was originally named by the Portuguese.

hddsx,

No, no, his logic is sound. The Atlantic Ocean will hereby be renamed the East American Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean will hereby be renamed the West American Ocean. The South China Sea will hereby be renamed the West West American Ocean. The Indian Ocean will hereby be renamed the South West American Ocean.

Checkmate, China

nicetriangle,
@nicetriangle@kbin.social avatar

Solid proposal. Approved!

Hadriscus,

How many signatures do we need ?

theyoyomaster,

You mean in international airspace over international waters?

ours,

Ah but it has “China” in its name so it should all belong to China! Taps forehead

Checks map

Oof, Taiwan, the Philippines, and parts of Japan amongst others are not going to be happy to learn this.

SARGEx117,

By his logic, the united states OF AMERICA now owns Canada, Mexico, and all of South America.

SCB,

Inshallah we will all be one, someday.

A hemispheric common market with free trade and open borders. An EU of the Americans.

frunch,

But did you checks notes???!?

Redrum714,

note checking intensifies

ricdeh,
@ricdeh@lemmy.world avatar

Right, the Chinese are forbidden to fly planes there but Americans may of course do so, great logic my friend /s

theyoyomaster,

The Chinese are absolutely allowed to fly planes there. What is against international law is unsafe intercepts and flying within 10 feet of another aircraft.

SARGEx117,

“Hey it’s a free country and I can have a gun all I want”

“That may be, but you can’t unload 12 magazines into the air downtown because you’re super jazzed about the $3 hand job you got behind fazoli’s. You’re still under arrest”

theyoyomaster,

Yeah, we really do need to crack down on sex workers.

cedarmesa,
@cedarmesa@lemmy.world avatar

We need to crack down on fazoli’s

ButtDrugs,

But there’s so many fazolis! Which one, which one had the $3 handhobs?

endhits,

How is this fundamentally different from the US with aircraft carriers?

theyoyomaster,

US ships and aircraft follow international law and don’t endanger others with illegal maneuvers. You’re allowed to be there, you’re not allowed to try to almost hit (and in multiple cases actually hit) someone else that is allowed to be there.

Stuka,

Well for one we aren’t flying those aircraft carriers within an unsafe distance from other…vessels

Just_Pizza_Crust,

For some context, the South China Sea is a giant sea between China, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and a few others. Currently, China is pushing for what it calls the “Nine-Dash Line” policy which would in effect forcibly blockade all other ASEAN nations from trading.

Imagine if Italy claimed the entire Mediterranean Sea including the coastline of other nations, then prevented others from trading under the threat of military invasion. That’s basically what China is trying to do here.

vaultdweller013,

So… Rome.

MARE NOSTRUM INTENSIFIES

mrbubblesort,
@mrbubblesort@kbin.social avatar

By that logic the Atlantic Ocean belongs to Atlanta

dhork,

And the Pacific Ocean belongs to the PAC-12 conference

hydrospanner,

Soon it’ll be reorganized and become The Bigten Ocean.

icy_mal,

And for some stupid reason 1/6 of it will now be part of the Atlantic.

SheeEttin,

Also known as the Vietnamese East Sea, Malaysian Champa Sea, Indonesian North Natuna Sea, and Philippines Luzon Sea.

JohnDClay,

You checking your China ‘this is totally all mine’ new map in your notes? The 9 dash line is hand drawn and totally arbitrary, and is basically saying ‘this is mine now.’

delirium,
@delirium@lemmy.world avatar

deleted_by_moderator

    •
    Nurse_Robot,

    What are you trying to say

    ButtDrugs,

    A complete thought, but he ran out of brain cells halfway through.

    DoomBot5,

    Shouldn’t all bombers be flying with fighter escorts? How did a Chinese fighter plane manage to get so close to it?

    nezbyte,

    There were fighter pilots from 3 nations escorting a B52 on Sunday. The articles I can find for the Tuesday flight do not mention any fighter escorts.

    flyingmag.com/us-japan-south-korea-conduct-trilat…

    theyoyomaster,

    There are only fighter escorts if there is a specific threat with hostile intent that requires them. Most non-fighter Air Force aircraft don’t fly with escorts routinely.

    SheeEttin,

    What difference would that make? They’re not going to shoot it down.

    Destraight,

    Why not? The Chinese fighter jet got too close. Had a fighter been following that B52 that Chinese fighter wouldn’t have been able to get close, because our fighter jet would shoot him down

    Zron,

    Ah yes, let’s potentially start WW3 with a nuclear power because a Chinese pilot got too close, and an American pilot got an itchy trigger finger.

    I’d love for that to be the reason I get flash boiled in a nuclear strike.

    Destraight,

    So why are we bothering bitching about it then? If we can’t do anything about it then this news report should have never happened and we should just shut the fuck up about it

    PiousAgnostic,

    Wow, you get so angry when learning something new. It’s worth reporting about because it’s one small twitch of the finger from an international incident.

    DoomBot5,

    If nothing else, the fighter could lock their weapons at the Chinese fighter jet and make them sweat a bit.

    bemenaker,

    Act of war. They don’t do that. That doesn’t happen in real life, that scene from Top Gun was for dramatic effect. They never do that unless they are actively engaged to kill.

    Cocodapuf,

    That’s not how that works in international airspace, you can’t shoot down any plane that gets to close or looks at you funny.

    This kind of engagement is a delicate dance with serious consequences attached to aggressive actions.

    bemenaker,

    Because that is an act of war. They are in international waters/air space. They are both allowed to be there. It is dangerous and unprofessional to get that close. The presence being known is all that matters. That jet can engage from 10 miles away or more, depending on the missiles it carries. Shooting it down just for getting close would start a war. And we do the same thing to their planes. We just maintain a safe distance. The US and Russia have done this since the 1940’s to each other.

    Modern_medicine_isnt,

    Most likely the bomber was flying there to establish our right to do. By not being a fighter it helps avoid an engagement. I have no specific knowledge of this incident, but in general we don’t want an engagement as that can escalate quicky. We just want to say that we don’t recognize the borders they claim.

    Cocodapuf,

    No, we don’t really do that any more. It’s not really necessary.

    We put the fighters where they need to be when they need to be there. This bomber is just flying its patrol route, they don’t need to be protected along their path to the target, they don’t need to be anywhere near their targets, they’re loaded with cruise missiles and they strike from dozens or hundreds of miles away.

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