"British Fighters Scramble To Intercept Two..." Topic

… Tu-95 Russian Bear H Bombers Flying Close To U.K. Airspace.

"* The mission was RAF Lossiemouth's maiden Quick Reaction Alert
* The pilot involved called it a 'flawless scramble and intercept'
* And said it was a 'milestone' for the base and a 'very proud moment'

Royal Air Force jets were deployed from Scotland to intercept Russian military 'Bear' aircraft that were flying too close to the airspace it guards.

Aircraft based at RAF Lossiemouth, based in Moray, were sent to identify the aircraft – Tu-95 Russian Bear H bombers – that were spotted in international airspace.

It was the first time a Quick Reaction Alert had occurred since the base took on the role of defending the UK's Northern airspace…"

Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

When I was a kid we went camping in Scotland. Without realising it, one of the campsites was right next to the airfield at Lossiemouth.

Wakeup call was Buccaneers landing and taking off…

They were loud.

Its a game. Its been going on for years. And importantly it brings a lot of comfort to all those involved, as if to say 'ahh good every thing is normal' We fly here they fly there we wave we take snapshots we go home.
The reality is The Bear would have never made it this far IF we meant it harm. Norway, Denmark or Germany could easily have shot it down some hours previous to its RAF reception!

They still have the red star on them??…

Shades of 1985!

No Murph its the national colours in the shape of a star look carefully.
Rather clever if you ask, instead of complete repaints just run a brush of white then blue around the star edge, and still keep a recognized friend or foe symbol that works the red star.
That Ol Tu 95 Bear still is a fascinating shaped plane.
Cheers

Yes, Bucs were flippin' loud! Typhoons aren't too shabby either – a lot louder than Tornados, which themselves are no slouch in the decibels department!

As Wyeayeman says, it's a game that's been going on for years, barring a gap from the late-90s to the mid-00s. The only reason it's news is that it's the first intercept since Lossiemouth took over QRA, following the closure of Leuchars.

Congratulations to my best mate (OC Ops at Lossie)! :)

Bad painting ont he Typhoon though. Black canopy?! Everyone knows you should paint them sky-blue!

Yes and the props on the Bear aren't moddelled very well.

" Norway, Denmark or Germany could easily have shot it down some hours previous to its RAF reception!"

What assets does Germany have so far north?

Tusca,

Sometimes they come via the Baltic, rather than the usual route over the North Cape. It's that to which he's referring.

Meanwhile, there was a rather more serious Russian incursion yesterday, with two Su-24s actually penetrating Swedish sovereign airspace (i.e. within the 15 mile limit). The Swedes have summoned the Russian ambassador to explain:

link

must be that they flew for the show as they bear a 'BBC' advertisement on tail marking.

nice broad casting in deed

Indeed they do these days (see the last thread on this topic, where BBC sponsorship of Russian Naval Aviation was discussed at length).

;)

I wonder if they have more than two operational Bears, or if their ground personnel are working overtime?

Seems a couple have been sighted off of Alaska and Canada too, in the last day or so.

In the Alaska sortie, two Bears were escorted by two IL-76 refueling tankers, and two Mig-31s.

Only Bears for the Canadian sortie:

link

Appears to me it is time to go Richard M. Nixon on little Putin, and sortie a squadron of B-52s to orbit off Russia for a while, just to give him something to think about.

Might be interesting for him to ponder what strategic bombers that are older than he is might be capable of.

I've heard the Swedes have moved some Gripens to Gotland island, in response to the actions in Ukraine.

Those props do look horrible, and they aren't even spinning.

;-)