Two Russian bombers approaching UK airspace on Wednesday prompted British defense officials to scramble two Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to intercept them, a Ministry of Defense spokesman said.
Sky News, which was the first to report the incident, cited the spokesman as saying that the Russian Tupolev Tu-160 aircraft were within Britain's "area of interest" but didn't officially enter UK airspace, which extends 12 miles beyond the country's coastline.
The Typhoon planes, part of the UK's Quick Reaction Alert, were dispatched from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire and escorted the aircraft across the North Sea.
"We have Typhoons up on a quick reaction alert. The situation is ongoing," the spokesperson said.
Similar incidents have occurred with increasing frequency as of late as Russia begins to take a more prominent role in the Syrian conflict as well as having a deteriorating relationship with the West, according to Fox News.
The RAF reports that such incidents aren't "uncommon" and that they have intercepted Russian military planes six times in the past 12 months. One such incident was in November when two Russian Tu-160 Blackjack bombers were escorted by Typhoon jets after being detected flying over the Atlantic.
Andrew Brookes, a fellow at the Royal Services Institute and former RAF, said such incidents are merely Russia showing off and "flex[ing] its muscles," according to the BBC.
"They are not trying to provoke a war," he said. "It isn't a Cold War... they are just using these tactics to poke us in the chest."
