Two Russian Bear bombers were again sighted off the coast of Cornwall in another manoeuvring close to the British Air Space.
British RAF fighters were scrambled to escort the unwelcome guests away by RAF Typhoon class fighters. Ministry of Defence spokeswoman stated: “RAF quick reaction alert Typhoon fighter aircraft were launched yesterday after Russian aircraft were identified flying close to UK air space. The Russian planes were escorted by the RAF until they were out of the UK area of interest. At no time did the Russian military aircraft cross into UK sovereign air space.”
Tensions are high between the UK and Russia and such incidents have now become once a month routine for the Russians. Last month as well a flight by two Russian bombers over the Channel had triggered a summon for Moscow’s ambassador by the British Foreign Office. UK foreign office said flights pose a potential danger to civilian flights.
Russian warships too have passed through the English channel on a number of occasions in recent months. On Tuesday, the Yaroslav Mudry was tracked by the Royal Navy as it sailed back to Russia after a deployment in the Mediterranean with its accompanying tanker, the Kola. British warships were deployed and used their Lynx helicopter and sensors to locate and monitor the movement of the Russian ships off the coast of France and through the English Channel.
Flights close to other Nato members’ air space have also become more frequent as tensions have increased between Moscow and the west.
Nato said it flew 400 intercepts last year, four times more than in 2013.
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