RAF fighter jets were scrambled on Wednesday afternoon to intercept two Russian bombers approaching British airspace off the north coast of Scotland. The Typhoons, based at Leuchars in Fife, were launched to identify the Tupolev Tu-95 aircraft.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman stated that the planes could not initially be identified, prompting the scramble. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace throughout and did not enter UK sovereign airspace without authorisation. The incident is considered routine, with Russian military planes testing British responses every few months.
This operation follows a separate incident last week when the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon was deployed to monitor a Russian ship, the Vice Admiral Kulakov, transiting past the UK. The MoD confirmed this as standard procedure.
