RAF Typhoons were scrambled to track a Russian aircraft hovering close to UK territory, the MoD has confirmed.
Typhoon jets took off from RAF Lossiemouth with support from a Voyager flying out of RAF Brize Norton. They were sent to shadow two Russian Bear-F planes identified near UK’s boundaries.
The swift response by the RAF came under NATO’s directive, and the identified craft remained subject to watchful eyes as they traversed international airspace sectors.
Typhoon fighters shepherded the foreign planes beyond the UK’s Flight Information Region, clarifying that “at no time did the Russian aircraft enter UK sovereign airspace”, the MoD articulated.
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: “This government is committed to making the UK secure at home and strong abroad. Efforts by the Royal Navy and RAF over the last two weeks demonstrate their selfless commitment to protecting our national security. I’d like to thank those members of our armed forces who took part in this operation, their professionalism and skill was on full display while working seamlessly with our NATO allies to uphold international standards.”
It comes after the Royal Navy intervened to track and deter two Russian submarines passing through the English Channel and North Sea, the service has recently completed a six-day operation. Portsmouth’s HMS Iron Duke followed the Kilo-class submarine Novorossiysk and its tug Evgeny Churov, eventually seeing them off at the Dover Strait into the Atlantic.
The elaborate pursuit of the Russian submarines started in early September when they were first spotted by HMCS Shawinigan, a Canadian warship, traveling from the Baltic across the North Sea.
The naval baton was then passed to the Royal Navy as the Russian vessels neared the Dover Strait, maintaining vigilance over one of the world’s busiest nautical thoroughfares.
This action comes on the heels of rigorous summer training exercises by Britain’s maritime forces.
HMS Iron Dukes Commanding Officer, Commander David Armstrong, expressed immense pride in his crew’s professionalism, declaring: “These were the fourth and fifth such operations for HMS Iron Duke since we emerged from a period of intense training in July, and I am extremely proud of the professionalism and selfless dedication that my ship’s company consistently display as they perform their duty.
Maritime security operations of this nature are a fundamental capability of the Royal Navy, with the protection of our sovereign waters and critical national infrastructure a key focus.”