British and French military aircraft were scrambled to the North Sea today amid reports Russian planes were approaching UK airspace.
Handout photographs show the RAF Typhoon fighter going out to intercept two Russian Long Range Blackjack bombers and escort them from British airspace.
An RAF Voyager refueling jet circled off the coast of Northumbria for more than three hours after taking off from Brize Norton airbase shortly before midday.
An RAF Typhoon fighter jet (bottom right of the image) has been circling above the North Sea amid reports a group of Russian aircraft (also pictured) were flying towards UK airspace
It is thought the aircraft may have been supporting Typhoon fighter jets patrolling UK airspace, although the Ministry of Defence has declined to confirm this.
A security source told the Reuters news agency that a French fighter and support planes were also sent up to investigate ‘suspected Russian fighter aircraft’.
Security sites in Moscow meanwhile reported two Russian planes flying towards Britain from the Barents Sea.
Earlier this month, British, French and German fighter jets simulated flight interceptions over Western Europe as part of NATO drills to deter Russian planes from entering allied airspace.
Fighter pilots carrying air-to-air missiles from 10 NATO nations took turns to simulate the interception of a potential enemy plane en route to Spain.
The team performed visual inspections of the aircraft’s status by hovering off the wings at speeds of 560 mph.
A flight pattern of the RAF refueling plane shows is circling over the North Sea. It is believed it was supporting Typhoon jets patrolling UK airspace
Around 60 Nato jets, mainly from European allies, are currently on alert to defend alliance airspace, as NATO deals with a dramatic increase in Russian air activity on its borders since Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
In 2016, there was a record 870 interceptions in the Baltics alone.
Russia has cranked up the pressure this summer, holding the huge ‘Vostok 2018’ wargames in the country’s eastern regions.
Nato will hold its biggest exercise since 2002 in October and November in Norway, called Trident Juncture, and involving non-NATO Finland and Sweden, with more than 40,000 troops.
RAF Typhoon fighter aircraft were scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth today to monitor two Russian planes approaching UK airspace, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The Russian Blackjacks long-range bombers were not talking to air traffic control, making them a hazard to all other aviation, the statement said.