Britain scrambles Typhoon jets to intercept Russian bombers
Story highlights
Britain's Royal Air Force scrambled two Typhoon jets to intercept Russian bombers - Tupolev TU-160 over the North Sea after the Russian planes failed to respond to air traffic control.
"The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea," the Air Force said in a statement.
"At no point did the Russian aircraft enter sovereign UK airspace," the statement added.
The Typhoons were scrambled by RAF's "quick reaction alert" in Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland.
This is not the first time an incident of this nature has occurred, last week the British Navy had ordered two warships to be intercepted which was reportedly passing near UK.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the bombers flew over the Barents, Norwegian and North seas during a 13-hour training mission that covered neutral waters.
"All flights by Russian aircraft are performed in strict accordance with international rules for using airspace without infringement on any countries' borders," the ministry said in a statement.