Russia dispatches MiG-31 jet to escort British reconnaissance aircraft for airspace violation

Russia dispatches MiG-31 jet to escort British reconnaissance aircraft for airspace violation

Russia dispatches MiG-31 jet to escort British reconnaissance aircraft for airspace violation Credit: JetKat/Shutterstock.com

A British reconnaissance aircraft violated reportedly violated Russian airspace over the Barents Sea, on Monday, August 15.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence reported the alleged airspace violation by a British reconnaissance aircraft that entered airspace near Cape Svyatoy Nos in the Murmansk region.

Air defence forces of Russia’s Northern Fleet detected the target over the Barents Sea heading towards Russian airspace.

An MiG-31BM fighter-interceptor was dispatched in order to identify the target and stop the “illegal” intrusion.

According to Russia’s Ministry of Defence, the British Boeing RC-135 reconnaissance and electronic warfare aircraft made an attempt to violate the Russian air border.

The Russian interceptor “forced the British plane out of the Russian airspace, escorted it over neutral waters and after making sure it left in the opposite direction, returned to the airfield of duty.”

Developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces and designed by the Mikoyan design bureau, the Mikoyan MiG-31 is a supersonic interceptor aircraft.

Built by Boeing with modifications by various companies such as Lockheed, L3 Technologies, General Dynamics and LTV, the Boeing RC-135 is used by both the United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force for intelligence purposes.

The news comes just as reports of explosions in Russian-occupied Crimea that were reportedly due to a missile strike on an ammunition depot began to circulate on social media on Tuesday, August 16.


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Written by

Joshua Manning

Originally from the UK, Joshua is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for the Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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