US military plane makes emergency landing in Russia

A US surveillance plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Russia Wednesday, following an issue with the landing gear.

Pentagon spokeswoman Michele Baldanza told Defense News that the plane initially took off from a Russian airfield in Ulan Ude to begin an observation flight, but discovered the landing gear would not fully retract.

“The crew, in cooperation with the Russian escort crew on-board, terminated the treaty observation mission and diverted to Khabarovsk to drop off the escort crew and to exit Russia using the most direct route possible to facilitate inspection and repair at a US base in Japan,” Baldanza said. “Khabarovsk is a frequently utilized Open Skies Airfield, designated by Russia for treaty purposes, but it is not normally a ‘point of exit’ for treaty missions.”

She added that because the mission was terminated, no imagery was collected during the flight. The aircraft has since left Khabarovsk — located in southeastern Russia, about 77 km from the Chinese border — and transited to Kadena Air Base in Japan to undergo maintenance, and is expected to return to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska once the problem is corrected.

The aircraft was identified as a Boeing-made OC-135B, in an initial report from the Express newspaper in the UK.

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