Officials from the UK have reported their fighter jets intercepted two Russian maritime bomber aircraft in international airspace north of Scotland Monday (August 14), within NATO's northern policing area.
According to a statement by the British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey, the Royal Air Force (RAF) deployed its Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets after they detected the Russian bombers, which they identified as a pair of Tupolev Tu-142s, as they passed through Scotland's Shetland Islands, "ready to counter any potential threat" to British territory and airspace.
A Voyager tanker was also scrambled to provide air-to-air refueling to provide the Typhoons an extended flight time.
"RAF crews at Lossiemouth maintain a constant watch over UK airspace and are always ready to take action at a moment's notice to keep our country safe," Heappey added.
A Russian Tupolev TU-142 flies by the USS Mount Whitney of the US Navy during the NATO-led military exercise Trident Juncture on November 2, 2018, at the Norwegian sea outside Trondheim, Norway. Two similar aircraft were intercepted by Royal Air Force fighter jets on August 14, 2023.
Officials in Westminster added its Typhoon jets are routinely scrambled in such incidents to secure and safeguard its skies, as well as that of its NATO allies after some RAF pilots recently led the alliance's air policing mission in Estonia, where more than 50 similar air intercepts were carried out.
Meanwhile, Russia said its strategic bombers had carried out routine flights over international waters in the Arctic.
The BBC reported the Typhoons and the Voyager tanker have now returned to base.
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