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RAF fighter jets scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft over North Sea

RAF claims that the Russian warplanes operating "in this busy airspace over the North Sea, can act as a hazard to other air users"

LONDON, November 28. /TASS/. British Typhoon jets were scrambled from the Lossiemouth base in Scotland on Saturday morning to intercept two Tu-142 planes of the Russian Aerospace Forces flying over the North Sea "near UK airspace," the UK Royal Air Force said.

RAF claims that the Russian warplanes operating "within the UK Flight Information Region, in this busy airspace over the North Sea, can act as a hazard to other air users," as allegedly they rarely talk to British air traffic controllers.

"To deter this provocative activity and mitigate the risks associated with Russian military aircraft flying in this busy international airspace, RAF Typhoons shadowed the two Russian Bears and closely monitored their movements," the statement says adding that the British jets were joined by their NATO allies, as the Typhoons were refueled in midair by a Voyager from RAF Brize Norton.

The Russian embassy to the UK has repeatedly pointed out that in recent years, British politicians and defense officials had often cited the alleged Russian threat to justify larger defense spending and the expansion of the British military presence into other regions. Russian diplomats emphasized that numerous missions of RAF jets scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft were an unjustified waste of material and human resources and created additional risks for civil aviation.