Grappling with the Russian bear
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THIS picture of a Typhoon from RAF Lossiemouth intercepting a Russian military plane has been released by the Ministry of Defence.
The incident – said to be the 17th involving Russia since May 3 – happened earlier this week.
It saw a Typhoon from the Moray base scrambled as the foreign bomber came near to approaching UK airspace.
An MOD spokesman said: "Russian aircraft frequently attempt to test NATO’s level of readiness, as well as conduct intelligence-gathering missions.
"The rapid reaction of the RAF and by NATO allies serves as a reminder of NATO’s cohesion and its ability to react.
"The Typhoon is held at a state of readiness every day, supported by engineering and airspace management personnel.
"Protecting NATO and UK airspace is what the RAF is here for, so today’s mission gave us the opportunity to demonstrate that we will always police our area of interest and also how well trained the Typhoon force is for dealing with events like this."
