British jets have intercepted an “unsafe” Russian aircraft after it repeatedly harassed a Royal Navy ship, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed.
A Russian “Bear-F” maritime patrol aircraft flew “unnecessarily close” to the UK’s largest warship – HMS Prince of Wales – and dropped tens of sonobuoys (portable listening devices) near by. Breathtaking photos showed British fighter jets scrambling to intercept the Bear, before escorting it out of the area.
The Russian aircraft repeatedly “passed at low altitude and unnecessarily close to HMS Prince of Wales and dropped a large number of sonobuoys in close proximity to the carrier”, the MoD said on Monday, adding that the incident was “unsafe and unprofessional”.
Shorts
The incident took place last Thursday, just two days before the Defence Secretary, Dan Jarvis, visited the ship.
