RAF fighter jets scramble to intercept Russians

RAF fighter jets have intercepted a Russian aircraft heading towards Nato airspace for the second time in a week.

Typhoons were scrambled on Thursday from the Romanian Mihail Kogalniceanu air base as a Russian Be-12, a maritime patrol aircraft, was spotted heading south-west across the Black Sea from Crimea.

It is the second time in a week that the RAF has launched jets to deter Russian aircraft, and the fifth since the end of April, when the air force took the helm of Nato’s Air Policing mission.

The RAF is taking a leading role in Air Policing over the Black Sea, with around 150 British personnel stationed at Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Constanta.

UK forces are stationed at the base at the request of the Romanian Government and have been at the site since April 17.