RAF combat aircraft were scrambled after reports that Russian bombers were heading towards UK airspace. The Typhoon jets were dispatched from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on Wednesday afternoon following the security alert.

The two Russian supersonic bombers were escorted across the North Sea.



An RAF spokesman said: “We have Typhoons up on a quick reaction alert. The situation is ongoing.” He added that such incidents were not uncommon.



It is believed that the encroaching aircraft were with the long range aviation branch of the Russian military. They have never penetrated UK airspace.

In November last year, the RAF revealed that Tornado fighters had been scrambled 20 times in the previous 12 months to intercept Russian aircraft near British airspace.

In a typical incident, RAF aircraft intercepted two Russian Blackjack bombers – Tupolev TU-160 aircraft – near Scotland after they had been seen earlier by Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic fighters.

Typhoon jets can be deployed in a range of operations, including combat. More recently, Typhoons have been involved in the campaign against Islamic State in Syria, with jets dispatched from the British military base of RAF Akrotiri.

