Two Chinese fighter jets intercepted an Air Force WC-135 Constant Phoenix in an unsafe manner, including flying inverted above the USAF plane on Wednesday. The WC-135 was flying a “routine” mission in international airspace over the East China Sea at the time, according to Pacific Air Forces. The Su-30 jets came within 150 feet of the WC-135, and one flew in an “inverted maneuver,” a defense official told ABC News. The US military is addressing the incident with China, according to PACAF. The Air Force’s WC-135 has repeatedly flown in the region to detect possible nuclear tests by collecting air samples the the region.
The U.S. sent Air Force F-16s over central Syria in a show-of-force response to the Dec. 13 killing of two U.S. Army Soldiers and one American civilian by a gunman linked to the Islamic State group.
