Russo-British tensions continue to mount as RAF fighters 'intercept' Russian bombers
As the second anniversary of the attempted assassination of Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal, passes, tensions between Russia and the UK are on the rise again.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is reporting that the Royal Air Force (RAF) was forced to scramble six of its jets to intercept Russian aircraft allegedly approaching British air space.
According to the MoD statement, the Russian bombers were tracked flying towards the north-west coast of Scotland yesterday.
The alleged near-encroachment by the Russian aircraft prompted the RAF to deploy three pairs of Typhoon fighter aircraft from its Quick Reaction Alert programme.
The Russian aircraft have been identified by RAF Lossiemouth (the base from where the Typhoons took off) as Tupolev Tu-95 (known as the Bears), which are used by the Russian air force both as strategic bombers and long-range maritime patrol planes.
RAF Lossiemouth later tweeted a series of pictures and a video of the alleged intercept which clearly depict a Tupolev Tu-95 bomber.
Cockpit footage from one of our #QRA Typhoons, showing one of the Russian aircraft #TeamLossie intercepted yesterday.
— RAF Lossiemouth (@RAFLossiemouth) March 8, 2020
It truly was a team effort, both within the @RoyalAirForce and as part of @NATO.
Find out more ▶️ https://t.co/HDou9Ziq1F pic.twitter.com/FPe20PJo1F
It is not known how many Russian aircraft were involved in yesterday’s incident.
A similar incident occurred late last month after aircraft – alleged to be Russian – were spotted off the Shetland Islands, situated between the UK and Norway.
In keeping with standard operating procedures, Typhoons were scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth to keep a close watch on the foreign aircraft.
However, in last month’s incident no interception took place as the foreign aircraft remained outside the area considered British airspace.
The regularity of these incidents, with Russian bombers and British fighter aircraft coming into extremely close proximity, reflect the escalating tensions between these two rival states.
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