In an ongoing incident, two Russian Tu-160 bomber jets have been intercepted in a “UK area of interest” by a pair of RAF Typhoon jets, which earlier took off from Coningsby in Lincolnshire, according to the MoD.
Below is a video of Russian pilots capturing the moment RAF Jets carry out escort away from British coastline.
Relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated over Ukraine, when a coup to depose the pro-Russian government of Victor Yanukovych was carried out, plunging the country into civil war. Relations between Russia and the West cooled to levels not seen since during the Cold War, and each side have resorted to frequent military posturing through large-scale military drills, military deployments and long-range air drills.
Russia has previously tested British air defences by deploying bombers near UK airspace. In September, two Russian jets were intercepted near British airspace. Despite remaining in international airspace, the MoD referred to their presence as being in a “UK area of interest”. Russia has carried out a number of flight sorties since 2014, when the crisis in Ukraine began.
British jets have also carried out probes of Russian air responses by deploying jets in Baltic airspace, close to Russia’s border. Deploying from an airbase in Estonia, RAF rapid deployment Typhoon jets intercepted 10 Russian jets near Baltic airspace in the course of a single week in July, 2015. Commenting on the operations, UK Defence Minister Michael Fallon said: “Air intercepts such as this highlight the vital importance of the UK’s contribution to the Baltic Air Policing mission and demonstrate our collective resolve to protect Nato airspace alongside our allies.”
Western leaders and President Putin have frequently exchanged accusations of acting with Cold-War brinkmanship in their respective foreign policies since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis.
