Britain scrambles fighters to intercept Russian bombers

The Typhoon combat aircraft were dispatched from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on Wednesday afternoon following the security alert.

“At no point did the Russian aircraft enter United Kingdom territorial airspace”, the spokeswoman said, without giving more specific details of the location of the incident.

He said: “We have Typhoons up on a quick reaction alert”.

And last January, Britain summoned the Russian ambassador to explain a similar episode when Russian bombers flew over the English Channel, forcing British authorities to reroute civil aircraft. They were flying in worldwide airspace that the MoD again described as an “area of interest”.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation jets are being scrambled to intercept Russian jets with increasing frequency amid heightened tensions between the West and Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

The RAF has intercepted Russian bombers at least six times over the past 12 months.

The Russian aircraft were making an out-of-the-ordinary 8,000-mile trip round Europe on their way to a bombing mission in Syria.

They were escorted away from the area by Typhoons and were not believed to have been a threat.

Last September another two Russian bombers were intercepted after threatening to enter United Kingdom air space.

In February previous year, Russian bombers were spotted flying just off the Cornish coastline.