After US P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was seen going through the international airspace the Black Sea, Russia has sent fighter jets to intercept.

According to the report of the Pentagon, a Russian Su-30 fighter jet made an “unsafe” intercept of a US P-8A Poseidon aircraft Saturday while it was flying over the Black Sea.

Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon noted that Russian fighter jet came as close as 50 feet from the US aircraft in international airspace.

The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is the US Navy’s next-generation long-range maritime patrol, anti-submarine warfare, anti-shipping, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. It is designed to improve anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASuW) capabilities.

The P-8A has an active multi-static and passive acoustic sensor system, inverse synthetic aperture radar, new electronic support measures system, new electro-optical/infrared sensor and a digital magnetic anomaly detector.

Most likely the reason for the appearance of an American maritime patrol aircraft was an attempt to intelligence new Russian Varshavyanka-class diesel-electric, Project 636.3 submarines.

The Varshavyanka-class (Project 636.3) is an improved version of Kilo-class submarines that features elements of advanced stealth technology, extended combat range and the ability to strike land, surface, and underwater targets. A total of six such submarines have already been constructed for the Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.