Pentagon warns Moscow as Russian fighter jet flies within 10 FEET of U.S. Navy surveillance plane (PHOTOS)

A Russian fighter jet has flown within 10 feet of a U.S. Navy plane over the Black Sea.

The jet made what Pentagon officials called an 'unsafe intercept' of an American surveillance aircraft.

Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, says the Russian SU-27 Flanker fighter made the maneuver on Wednesday.
It was near a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft that was conducting routine operations in international airspace.

U.S. Navy aircraft and ships routinely interact with Russian units in the area and most interactions are safe and professional,' Davis said, according to ABC News.
'However, we have deep concerns when there is an unsafe maneuver.

'These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries, and could result in a miscalculation or accident, which results in serious injury or death.'
The Russian jet conducted four intercepts of the Poseidon, and the one that was considered unsafe lasted about                                                                                                         19 minutes.

Russian jets have occasionally flown close to other U.S. aircraft and Navy ships in the region.

In another dramatic incident earlier this year, Russian jets buzzed over the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, coming within 30 feet of the warship.
The P-8A Poseidon is almost 40 meters long and 13 meters high.

According to Naval Air Systems Command, it was designed to: 'meet the Navy’s needs of developing and fielding a maritime aircraft equipped with significant growth potential, including an extended global reach, greater payload capacity, higher operating altitude, and the open systems architecture.'

The Russian SU-27 fighter is a combat aircraft comparable but considered superior to the U.S. F-15 jet.