British Royal Air Force Typhoons were scrambled on Wednesday to intercept two Russian supersonic bombers -- Tupolev TU-160s, like the one pictured at left -- headed toward British airspace. File Photo by Anatoli Zhdanov | License Photo

LONDON, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- British Royal Air Force Typhoons were scrambled on Wednesday to intercept two Russian supersonic bombers headed toward Britain's airspace.

A British Ministry of Defense spokesman confirmed two Russian Tupolev TU-160 planes were in Britain's "area of interest" but did not yet enter the airspace, which extends 12 miles beyond the country's coastline.


The Typhoon planes, part of Britain's Quick Reaction Alert, were dispatched from the RAF's Coningsby base in Lincolnshire. The planes were escorting the bombers south across the North Sea.