RAF warplanes scrambled after Russian jets near UK airspace

Two Royal Air Force (RAF) warplanes were scrambled in Scotland on Monday to monitor two Russian aircraft approaching Britain, but the incident ended when it was clear the Russian bombers had not entered British air space.

The alert was raised on Monday morning with the RAF jets engaged off the Scottish coastline, Xinhua news agency reported.

An RAF spokesman said: "We can confirm that Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth scrambled to monitor two Blackjack bombers approaching the UK."

"The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea. At no point did the Russian aircraft enter sovereign UK airspace."

The spokesman told Xinhua the two RAF jets returned to their base.

The comments of the Russian side were not immediately available.

--IANS

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