British jets intercept Russian aircraft near NATO borders twice in one week
Photo: British fighter jets intercepted Russian planes twice in a week (Typhoon-defence-ua-com)
British fighter jets have intercepted Russian aircraft twice over the past week, as the latter came dangerously close to NATO borders, according to The Telegraph.
Royal Air Force fighter jets were scrambled twice in less than 48 hours to protect NATO airspace from Russian military aircraft. According to reports, British Typhoon jets took off after Russian planes approached NATO borders too closely, triggering alarm.
The first interception took place on Tuesday, April 15, when two Typhoon fighter jets stationed at the Malbork air base in Poland were scrambled to intercept a Russian reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea.
Less than 48 hours later, another pair of jets was deployed to deter an unidentified aircraft that had taken off from the Kaliningrad region and was flying between Poland and Lithuania.
The Telegraph noted that this marked the first time British aircraft had been involved in Operation Chessman — NATO’s new mission aimed at strengthening Europe’s air defenses.
As a reminder, in February, French Rafale fighter jets intercepted two aircraft near the Latvian coast.
That same month, Norwegian F-35 fighters intercepted a group of Russian bombers in the High North, including two Tu-95 bombers and two Su-33 fighter jets.
