Lossiemouth jets scramble as Putin tests UK defences
VLADIMIR Putin sent two bombers streaking towards Scottish airspace as a Russian anti- submarine destroyer and escort ships headed through the Channel in another apparent bid to test Britain’s military.
The presence of the destroyer – equipped with missiles, anti-aircraft guns and torpedoes – and the two other ships was a sign of the growing provocation from Moscow.
It forced the UK to send a heavily armed Type 23 frigate, HMS Argyll, to monitor the vessels.
Only hours later, two Russian Tupolev Bear bombers, capable of carrying nuclear missiles, streaked along the northern edge of UK airspace, prompting the scrambling of two Typhoon fighter jets from RAF Lossiemouth.
It emerged Russian military inspectors had been at Lossiemouth, Moray, yesterday when the state- of-the-art Typhoons were launched. The timing raised suspicions that President Putin was using their access to the airfield to test RAF reaction times.
The escalation in tensions came as Britain hosted a huge Nato naval exercise, Joint Warrior, off Scotland’s West Coast. The exercise was supposed to encourage Mr Putin to calm his recent aggression toward the UK and our Nato allies.
Sir Michael Graydon, former head of the RAF, said Mr Putin’s behaviour was akin to tactics used during the Cold War, adding that more needed to be spent on defence to defeat a ‘resurgent’ Russia.
He said: ‘This is a classic return to the 1970s and 1980s when every exercise that was conducted by Nato was snooped on, and very usefully
‘World is more dangerous’
from their point of view.’ Sir Michael added the ‘evidence’ Britain should spend more on defence was ‘very strong’, saying: ‘The world is more dangerous than it was in 1990.
‘We have a resurgent and adventurous Russia which is busy rearming. Our capability to deal with these sorts of threats is diminishing because we don’t have the manpower.’
Earlier this week it emerged that the Ministry of Defence had been forced to accept an inspection by Russian experts under a European treaty. Joint Warrior has been hailed by the Government as one of the largest land, air and sea training exercises run in Europe.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said it would involve 58 warships and submarines – mainly deploying from Faslane on the Clyde – as well as 50 aircraft and 3,000 land forces.
The visit by Russian inspectors began at Lossiemouth on Monday and it is understood they were there when the Typhoons took off yesterday.
Hours earlier Udaloy class destroyer Severomorsk, a tanker and a support ship, returning from the Mediterranean, were monitored by HMS Argyll in the English Channel.
A source said: ‘The indications are that they are return- ing home, but they may want to poke their noses in at the exercise off Scotland before doing so.’
Regarding the launch of the Typhoons, an RAF spokesman said: ‘The Russian planes were escorted by the RAF until they were out of the UK area of interest. At no time did the Russian military aircraft cross into UK sovereign airspace.’
In February, HMS Argyll had to intercept a Russian warship as it strayed close to the UK while passing through the English Channel.
RAF jets were scrambled in January to intercept two Russian bombers capable of carrying nuclear missiles as they flew south of Bournemouth.