British F-35 fighter watching Russian naval maneuvers in Mediterranean
The Russian Navy kicked off drills in the eastern Mediterranean on June 25
MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/. A UK Navy F-35 fighter is making a flight over the Russian naval taskforce engaged in maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea, according to a video uploaded by Russia’s Defense Ministry on Monday.
The video shows an F-35B fighter jet with the short take-off and vertical landing capability, which the UK is purchasing.
Overall, the UK operates about 138 aircraft of this type, including the fighters based on the carrier Queen Elizabeth currently staying in Mediterranean waters, according to available data.
The F-35 Lightning II is a family of the fifth-generation one-seat, single-engine all-weather stealth multirole fighters. Their basic armaments include a 25 mm four-barrel air gun, missiles and air bombs on four internal and six external hardpoints. The fighter is capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
The Russian Navy kicked off drills in the eastern Mediterranean on June 25. The drills involve five warships, including the missile cruiser Moskva, the frigates Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov and the submarines Stary Oskol and Rostov-on-Don. Also, Tu-142MK and Il-38 anti-submarine warfare aircraft, Tu-22M3 long-range bombers and MiG-31K fighters are engaged in the maneuvers that are aimed at ensuring security of Russia’s Hmeymim airbase and the Russian Navy’s Tartus naval facility in Syria.