RAF fighter jets interrupted the path of a Russian maritime patrol aircraft over the Black Sea in the second such incident this week, the MoD revealed today.
The RAF Typhoons scrambled from Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Romania on Thursday in response to a Russian Be-12 plane which was heading southwest over the Black Sea from Crimea.
The Royal Air Force has deployed Typhoons to the Baltic States in recent years as part of a mission to protect NATO airspace in the region.
British fighter jets interrupted the path of a Russian maritime patrol aircraft over the Black Sea in the second such incident this week, Britain’s defence ministry said on Friday (stock image)
In the previous incident on Tuesday, it scrambled two typhoons in Romania to shadow two suspected Russian Su-30 Flanker aircraft.
Britain’s Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Mark Lancaster, spoke about ‘an ever more assertive Russia’ in a speech in London in July.
He said the RAF has had to intercept Russian military aircraft more than 80 times over the last decade.
Last week the RAF intercepted six Russian bombers flying close to NATO airspace over the Black Sea and forced them to turn back.
The Eurofighter Typhoons launched early on Monday from their base in Romania after the Russian Su-24 Fencer planes were spotted, the RAF said.
It said there was ‘significant Russian air activity through most of the night’ until the aircraft eventually turned towards Crimea.
The RAF said the operation was in accordance with the NATO Enhanced Air Policing mission with NATO ally Romania.
Last week the RAF intercepted six Russian bombers flying close to NATO airspace over the Black Sea and forced them to turn back (stock image of Typhoon)
RAF jets helped ‘deter Russian aggression, reassure our friends in Romania, and assure NATO allies of our commitment to collective defence,’ it said.
Romanian Defence Minister Mihai Fifor earlier said such ‘provocations’ by Russia became ‘frequent’ in recent months.
RAF fighters intercepted Russian bombers eight times in the past two years – five in 2016 and three in 2016 – headed towards British airspace.
Most recently two Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack bombers were intercepted by Typhoons just 30 miles from British airspace.
Four RAF Typhoons are deployed at the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in southeast Romania where several hundred U.S. troops are also stationed.
The move was part of NATO’s beefed-up defences on its eastern flank following Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The U.S. Air Force has four F-15C Eagles based in neighbouring Bulgaria.
RAF fighters intercepted Russian bombers eight times in the past two years – five in 2016 and three in 2016 – headed towards British airspace (stock image of Typhoon)