Updated on: July 6, 2026 / 8:57 AM EDT
/ CBS/AFP
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A Russian patrol aircraft staged "unsafe" activity near the U.K.'s flagship aircraft carrier as it conducted NATO air defense operations off Iceland, Britain's defense ministry said Monday.The Bear-F plane "repeatedly approached" the carrier group last week, passing the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier "unnecessarily close" at low altitude and dropping numerous sonar devices nearby, according to the ministry.Two U.K. F-35 warplanes were dispatched from the carrier to intercept and escort the patrol plane until it departed, it said in a statement."This activity was unsafe and unprofessional," an ministry spokesperson said of Thursday's incident in the Norwegian Sea in the so-called High North.
While operating in the Norwegian Sea on Operation FIRECREST, the UK's Carrier Strike Group was approached repeatedly by a Russian 'Bear-F' maritime patrol aircraft.The aircraft flew unnecessarily close to HMS Prince of Wales, dropped multiple sonobuoys nearby, and failed to… pic.twitter.com/LLPgwo2VXA— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) July 6, 2026
