Two Russian bombers flew close enough to Cornwall last night that RAF fighter jets had to be called in as escorts.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the Russian Bear strategic bombers were flying close to UK sovereign airspace, in an area considered to be a national 'area of interest' - the second time such an incident has occurred in less than a month.
At a time when tensions are high between Russia and the UK due to fighting in Ukraine, the two bombers came close enough to Cornwall to make the RAF scramble two RAF Typhoons from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
An MoD spokesperson said: “The Russian planes were escorted by the RAF until they were out of the UK area of interest. At no time did the Russian military aircraft cross into UK sovereign airspace.”
The MoD said incidents like this happen "quite regularly, about once a month", and all their personnel are well trained to deal with it.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article