Mandy Wan |
A series of RAF Typhoons have been scrambled to deflect a duo of Russian supersonic bombers that were distinctly aiming for UK airspace.
The Typhoons, a branch of the United Kingdom’s Quick Reaction Alert, were issued from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire this afternoon. Their mission had been to intercept the two Russian Tupolev TU 160 aircraft that had entered the UK’s “area of interest”.
The airspace is said to be 12 miles out from the UK’s coastline.
The Tupolev Tu-160 Beliy Lebed, often given the nickname of “White Swan”, is the world’s largest combat jet to ever enter service. It has a top speed of 2,220 kilometres per hour, which is approximately 1,000 kilometres faster than the speed of sound, and a wingspan of 56 metres, making it physically the biggest supersonic aircraft ever built.
Andrew Brookes, a former RAF pilot and member of the Royal United Services Institute has reassured us that whilst the Russians are not attempting to start a war, there is no obvious reason as to why they are entering the British airspace. He followed up his speculation with:
“It isn’t a Cold War… they are just using these tactics to poke us in the chest.“
Within the past 12 months, six of Russia’s military planes have been blocked off from advancing dubiously close to the mainland by the RAF.
Last year, in May , a couple of Tupolev Tu-95 bombers, dubbed as the Russian Bear, were tailed as they travelled in the airspace located close to the north of Scotland.
During September, a pair of “Blackjack” aircraft were deflected over the North Sea. Later in November, a small team of similar yet not identical bomber jets were guided away from the United Kingdom after being spotted flying over the Atlantic Ocean.
