By Chathushka Perera
London, UK (CWBN)_ The Royal Air Force was forced to dispatch two Typhoon fighters from Lossiemouth Air Field, Scotland, on Saturday (28th Nov) to intercept a pair of Russian Tu-142s (Bear F) that flew in proximity of British air space over the North Sea.
The fighters reportedly “shadowed” the Russian planes in order to “deter this unprofessional activity and mitigate risks associated with Russian military aircraft flying in this busy international airspace”
An RAF Voyager, used for refuelling purposes was also scrambled from the Brize Norton air base in Oxfordshire, to support the two fighters over the course of their mission. Moreover, NATO allies reportedly activated “Quick Reaction Alert assets” in response to the incident.
The RAF added that Russian planes fail to “squawk”, meaning that they do not alert other air traffic of their position and course to control towers, hence posing a risk to civilian craft flying in the respective area.
The Tu-142 is part of the Russian military used in maritime reconnaissance, and tracking and monitoring submarines, which makes it an effective apparatus in anti-submarine warfare.
Typhoon fighters, primarily used by the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, were collaboratively designed to achieve air superiority in the latter years of the Cold War, and put into production in 1998.
However, a project to upgrade its passive infrared airborne and the inclusion of Litening 5 targeting pods that began last year, in addition to the upgrades made in 2018, are expected to keep the Typhoons in service till 2040.
