Russian 'Nuke' Bombers Invade British Airspace

[xxMATTGxx]

Two Russian bombers, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, have been caught flying over British airspace.



The unwelcome guests spent four hours flying over the Isle of Lewis despite being intercepted by two RAF jets.

A pair of 111 squadron Tornado F3 fighters took of from RAF Leuchars in Fife to locate the supersonic Tu160 bombers in the Outer Hebrides.

They shadowed the Russian aircraft as they flew south towards the coast of Northern Ireland and then turned north.

Wing Commander Mark Gorringe, commander of 111 Squadron, said: "This is not an unusual incident.

"People may be surprised to know that our crews have successfully scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft on more than 20 occasions since the start of 2009.

"Our pilots, navigators and indeed all the support personnel at RAF Leuchars work very hard to deliver the UK Quick Reaction Alert Force 24 hours a day, which can be scrambled in minutes, to defend the UK from unidentified aircraft entering our airspace, or aircraft in distress.

"It's a very important job, defending the UK and helping to keep UK citizens safe."

After being tailed for four hours, the Russians eventually left British airspace.

The Ministry of Defence stressed that there was no indication that the planes intended to enter British airspace.

The Tupolev Tu160 is a heavy bomber which was first deployed during the last years of the Soviet Union.

It has the heaviest take-off weight and the highest top speed of any combat aircraft.

At least 16 of the models are currently in service with the Russian air force.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-...15581985?f=rss

These Russians sure like coming to our airspace and testing the RAF don't they?

[Grig]

We sure love it, never had the best relations with Brtain- no sir!

[HotelUser]

20 times since 2009? I would of thought I would have heard more about this, then

[xxMATTGxx]

We sure love it, never had the best relations with Brtain- no sir!

Haha

20 times since 2009? I would of thought I would have heard more about this, then

Not everything is released to the public. Although I'm not surprised considering the amount of times it has been in the news regarding RAF jets intercepting other Russian jets.

[HotelUser]

Haha



Not everything is released to the public. Although I'm not surprised considering the amount of times it has been in the news regarding RAF jets intercepting other Russian jets.

Oh, well, I don't exactly get BBC news here (a) This is sort of scary stuff, though.

[Grig]

We've always been tampering with British foreign affairs, I'm suprised there haven't been more sanctions imposed on us. ;p

[HotelUser]

We've always been tampering with British foreign affairs, I'm suprised there haven't been more sanctions imposed on us. ;p

Grig are you causing international incidents again

[xxMATTGxx]

We've always been tampering with British foreign affairs, I'm suprised there haven't been more sanctions imposed on us. ;p

You keep testing our reaction times! Seeing how we operate!

'We have had to step up our intercepts, and that's exactly what they want because it is all about testing the RAF's reaction times. They get valuable information every time they do it. They will time us to the second and then feed everything into their computer for analysis, to see if we're getting better or worse.

[Grig]

Grig are you causing international incidents again

Yes it's what I do best, international scandals. International courts will have me for it ;].

You keep testing our reaction times! Seeing how we operate!

Yes, we have some of the best spies and even after the Soviet era, Russia (I was about to say big brother lol) is watching you! MattGarner watch your step. Although, it is probably more intense in the US, it's just the US have a more stepped up security, so it's harder + it's further ;p.

[GommeInc]

... Why were Russian aircraft entering our space, again? I don't see what the point is, why are they doing it?! It's surreal behaviour... Do the RAF or the British Government just not want to get in contact with Russia to ask why they're flying their aircraft into our territory?

Maybe they're spying on the Eurovision entries?