UK Edition
Britain sends Typhoon jets to intercept Russian bombers near Shetland Islands
Britain scrambled Typhoon fighter jets from an airbase in Scotland to intercept two Russian bombers approaching UK airspace, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
The Russian Blackjack bombers flew from the direction of Norway and passed to the west of Britain's Shetland Islands, northeast of the mainland.
A Royal Air Force spokeswoman said: "Quick reaction alert Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth intercepted two Russian Blackjack bombers and escorted them while they were in the UK area of interest.
"At no point did the Russian aircraft enter UK territorial airspace."
Two aircraft were also launched from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire as "precautionary measure" but were not required.
A number of similar incidents have been recorded in the last year involving Russian military aircraft close to UK airspace.
Typhoons from RAF Coningsby conducted a similar operation in February, while in October and November 2015 fighter jets were scrambled from Lossiemouth to intercept Blackjack bombers flying over the North Sea.
In December last year, British military officials held talks with their counterparts in Moscow over "incursions" of Russian aircraft around the UK.
Michael Fallon, Defence Secretary, said the talks were aimed at finding ways of heading off any "miscalculation or accident".
In September last year, a senior former Russian officer told the Telegraph that flights by Russian long-range nuclear bombers skirting British airspace routinely spy on UK air defences, but should not be considered provocative.
Lt Gen Evgenny Buzhinsky, a retired officer who now heads a defence and security think tank in Moscow, said reconnaisance was normal practice and Nato nations had long carried out similar flights along Russia’s borders.