RAF fighter jets scrambled to Scotland as Russian aircraft approach UK airspace
RAF fighter jets were scrambled to the north of Scotland this morning after Russian aircraft entered UK airspace, the MOD has confirmed.
By ROSS LOGAN
Express.co.uk
Sat, May 27, 2017
Royal Air Force Typhoons took off from the Lossiemouth airbase, north east Scotland, on a Quick Alert Response (QRA).
An RAF Airbus Voyager KC3 tanker was also scrambled from Brize Norton airbase in Oxfordshire.
The Quick Reaction Alert, or QRA, is the RAF’s state of readiness where fighter jets can be scrambled within minutes to meet or intercept aircraft which give cause for concern.
A statement by the Ministry of Defence said: “Two Typhoons were scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth this morning as part of the RAF’s Quick Reaction Alert in response to two Russian aircraft entering the UK’s airspace.
“Both aircraft have now returned safely to RAF Lossiemouth.”
An MoD spokesman said the Russian jets did not actually enter UK airspace, but had travelled into an “area of interest” very close by.
The RAF regularly scrambles jets to reports of Russian planes flying close to British skies, and has been doing so since the start of the Cold War.
Figures released last year revealed RAF fighter jets had been scrambled almost once a month to intercept Russian military planes flying close to UK airspace.
Between 2010 and 2015, 102 incidents of Quick Response Aircraft being launched were recorded by the MoD.
The data showed around half – 52 – of these were in response to Vladimir Putin’s air force flying near British territory.
Despite a number of close calls, no Russian plane has ever strayed into UK sovereign airspace.
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