UK scrambles jets to intercept 4 Russian military planes

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Royal Air Force says it scrambled fighter jets in response to four Russian military aircraft approaching the United Kingdom. The force said four Russian strategic bombers were “intercepted and escorted,” and that they did not enter U.K. airspace at any point. The Typhoon jets took off from British air force bases in Lossiemouth, northeast Scotland, and they were joined by a Voyager air-to-air refueling tanker launched from Oxfordshire, England. Authorities did not provide further details on the operation. The force routinely intercepts aircraft approaching what it describes as the “UK area of interest.” In November 2021, jets also escorted Russian strategic bombers out of the area.