RAF Eurofighters intercept Russian bomber as Putin restarts Cold War
Pastor Dale Morgan
RAF Eurofighters intercept Russian bomber as Putin restarts Cold War*
By Richard Holt
Last Updated: 8:06pm BST 21/08/2007
RAF fighter jets were sent to intercept a Russian bomber which was
heading towards British air space over the North Atlantic, it emerged
this evening.
An RAF Typhoon Eurofighter intercepts the Russian Bear-H bomber
Eurofighter intercepts the bomber
Two Typhoons were sent from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire to meet the
Bear-H aircraft after the early warning radar system detected it heading
towards UK territory, according to the Ministry of Defence.
It is the first time the Typhoon Eurofighters have been scrambled since
they took on operational duties on June 29.
No more details have been released about the incident, which took place
last week, but it is bound to heighten tensions after a number of
assertive acts by Moscow.
President Vladimir Putin announced this week that Russia has resumed
long-range patrols by its bomber planes for the first time since the end
of the Cold War.
Relations with both Europe and the United States have been deteriorating
as Russia, buoyed by booming energy prices, has shaken off the
post-Soviet malaise of the 1990s.
Western criticism has mounted as Mr Putin curtailed freedoms in Russia
and imposed economic punishments on ex-Soviet neighbours who had pursued
a pro-Western course.
In June The Kremlin was angered by US plans to move missile systems into
eastern Europe.
Mr Putin threatened to aim Russian nuclear missiles at European cities
in retaliation.
While Washington insists that the missiles are directed at the growing
threat of Iran and North Korea, the Kremlin is convinced they are
directed at Russia.
Earlier this month Sergei Ivanov, the hawkish Russian defence minister
seen as a possible successor to Mr Putin when he stands down next year,
announced an eight-year £100 billion military upgrade.
Defence spending has quadrupled since Mr Putin came to power in May 2000.