British Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon jets intercepted Russian bombers Monday as they were flying north of Scotland, within NATO’s northern policing area.
“Pilots launched in their Typhoon jets to intercept two Russian long-range bombers this morning, monitoring them as they passed north of the Shetland Islands, ready to counter any potential threat to UK territory,” UK Minister for the Armed Forces, James Heappey said.
RAF pilots returned to the UK earlier this month after leading NATO’S air policing mission in the Baltic for four months. During that time, the British pilots intercepted 50 Russian aircraft, according to Sky News.
The Netherlands and Denmark likewise deployed F-16 fighter jets as the two Russian bombers flew over Denmark and headed towards airspace monitored by Netherlands on behalf of NATO.
Dutch F-16s were scrambled in response to an alert received Monday at 7:19 am local time, the Dutch government said, adding that the Danish air force intercepted the Russian bombers before they could enter Dutch NATO airspace.
