RAF jets scrambled to 'unidentified aircraft nearing UK' for second day in a row

dailystar.co.uk:

RAF Typhoon fighters have been launched for the second day in a row as aircraft were seen "approaching the UK area of interest".The jets were dispatched from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland, with support from a Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, which are the same aircrafts that were dispatched yesterday.An RAF spokesperson said: "Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighters from RAF Lossiemouth, supported by a Voyager Tanker from RAF Brize Norton, have been launched against aircraft approaching the UK area of interest."We will not be offering any additional detail on this ongoing operation until complete."The RAF confirmed that Typhoon jets were scrambled yesterday to respond to four Russian military aircraft approaching the UK.An RAF spokesperson said “four Russian Bear aircraft” were “intercepted and escorted” but at no point did they enter UK airspace.NATO use the word “Bear” as reporting name for Russia's Tu-95 and Tu-142 strategic bomber.The RAF routinely intercepts aircraft approaching what it describes as the “UK area of interest”.According to the UK Defence Journal, an area of interest can include international airspace for which a country is responsible in some way and could be down to the provision of air traffic control services.Before these two recent incidents, the last time jets were launched in response to Russian TU-160 Blackjack strategic bombers was November 2021.Officials said at the time the fighters escorted the Russian aircraft out of the “area of interest”, and that the bombers did not enter UK airspace.For all the latest Daily Star news, sign up for one of our free newsletters here.The incidents come following Primer Minister Boris Johnson holding a joint.