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British Fighters Intercept Two Russian Bombers Flying Near UK

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Anders Hagstrom Justice Reporter
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British Royal Air Force (RAF) fighters intercepted two Russian bombers nearing U.K. airspace in the North Sea, according to The Guardian Monday.

The move was a Russian attempt to test the RAF’s reactions, as the country flies sorties nearing NATO airspace up to nine times a year, according to The Guardian. NATO countries, including Britain, also fly sorties near the boundaries of Russian airspace multiple times a year. The pair of Tupolev Tu-160s flew past Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands before two RAF Typhoon jets intercepted them roughly 30 miles outside U.K. airspace and escorted them away.

“The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea,” an RAF spokesman told The Guardian. “At no point did the Russian aircraft enter sovereign UK airspace.”

While Russian aircraft have been more active around the Baltic states in recent months, there is no sign of escalating activity around the North Sea. Russian aircraft made an “unsafe” intercept of a U.S. spy plane over the Black Sea in November. The Pentagon said that the Su-30 jet crossed right in front of the U.S. P-8A Poseidon aircraft to the left and right and used its afterburners to drive the Poseidon into the jet wash, which forced it into a “15-degree roll and violent turbulence.”

Russian TU-95 bombers conducted a flyby similar to Monday’s incident in April 2017 off the coast of Alaska. They were intercepted and escorted away by a pair of U.S. F-22 Raptors.

The TU-95 bombers came within the Air Defense Identification Zone of the U.S., as they were only 280 miles away from the Elmendorf Air Force Base, according to Fox News.

Additionally, the nuclear-capable Russian bombers also came within 100 miles of Kodiak Island, but the F-22 Raptors quickly scrambled to intercept them, along with an E-3 early warning plane, and escorted the bombers for about 12 minutes before the TU-95s returned to Russia.

The incident was the first time Russian aircraft approached the U.S. during Donald Trump’s presidency. Before the incident, the last time Russian bombers flew near U.S. airspace was July 4, 2015, when two Russian bombers flew as close as 40 miles from the coast of California.

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