UK intercepts Russian aircraft near airspace; US missile destroyer enters Black Sea

Fighter planes of Britain's Royal Air Force intercepted Russian planes flying too close to British and Estonian airspace, the British Defense Ministry announced.

RAF Typhoons flying from Lossiemouth in Scotland and Amari in Estonia each made interceptions.

The aircraft flying from Lossiemouth monitored Tu-142 Bear patrol aircraft as they approached British airspace, escorting them away from Britain's sovereign airspace.

In Estonia, two Typhoons deployed to NATO Baltic Air Policing intercepted a Bear bomber, which was accompanied by two Su-30 Flanker fighters.

"Protecting NATO and UK airspace is what RAF is here for, so today's mission gave us the opportunity to demonstrate that we will always police our area of interest," said one RAF Typhoon pilot involved in the interceptions," adding that the actions display "how well trained the Typhoon force is for dealing with events like this."

The intercepts were not the first for the Royal Air Force even in the last week.

British aircraft, flying from Estonia's Amari air base, intercepted five Russian aircraft in two days last week. The intercepts were conducted over the Baltic Sea in in international airspace but near the airspaces of Estonia and Lithuania.

On Aug. 5, British Typhoon fighter planes identified and shadowed an Antonov An-26 "Curl" medium transport plane, and later followed a Tupolev Tu-142 "Bear-F" long-range maritime patroller and two Sukhoi Su-27 fighters. All are Russian military aircraft.

The following day the Typhoons investigated the passage of a Tupolev Tu-134, a commercial plane modified for the military with extra radar equipment as used as a training plane.

The British planes patrolling the Baltic Sea from Estonia are part of NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission. Since they took over the duties in May from Germany's air force, British planes have scrambled 17 times for an intercept.

Russian aircraft often fly close to the coast as they transit to Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave that lies on the Baltic coast between Poland and Lithuania.

"This is a routine NATO mission for the Typhoons which provides reassurance that the UK is here to work in partnership with Estonia," a statement by the British government said.

The latest incidents were reported on the same day that U.S. and Canadian fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers near the Alaskan coast. The North American Aerospace Defense Command -- also identified by the acronym NORAD -- said two F-22 and two CF-18 fighter jets intercepted the two Russian Tu-95 bombers as they entered the Alaskan and Canadian air defense identification zones.

Guided-missile destroyer USS Porter enters Black Sea
Washington (UPI) Aug 9, 2019 - The guided-missile destroyer USS Porter traveled to the Black Sea this week, the sixth U.S. Navy ship to operate in the region this year.

The ship, one of four U.S. destroyers based at Naval Station Rota, Spain, moved across Turkey's Bosphorus Strait and into the Black Sea on Thursday.

The Porter is the first U.S. vessel to operate in the Black Sea since the USNS Yuma, participating in joint U.S.- Ukraine Sea Breeze 2019 exercise, departed the area in July. The destroyer USS Carney also sailed into the Black Sea during the exercises and left the area in July.

The 12-day exercise involved 32 ships, 24 aircraft and approximately 3,000 troops from 19 nations.

In a statement Thursday, the Navy did not identify a mission in the Porter's deployment to the Black Sea.

"The naval operations we conduct in the Black Sea with our allies and partners maintain the strong relationships that are necessary for regional stability," Vice Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, commander of U.S. 6th Fleet, said Thursday in a statement. "The inherent flexibility of our forward-deployed naval force DDGs enables our ability to provide a credible defense and ensure we are postured appropriately to support our global operations."

The Navy routinely operates in the Black Sea, consistent with international law, the statement added.

The four destroyers in Rota are part of the ballistic missile defense system that pairs the destroyers with Aegis Ashore stations in Poland and Romania. The Navy increased its presence in the Mediterranean and Black Seas after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

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