According to the method LBC (Driving the conversation in Britain), RAF aircraft have had to be deployed at least 35 times in the past five years. This particular discovery comes with other news: Russia is using these flights to simulate bombings in the United Kingdom.
According to figures released by the British Ministry of Defense and obtained by the above-mentioned media outlets, Rapid Response Alert Station aircraft have had to mobilize 66 times since 2018, mostly in response to Russian aircraft. This unit aims to provide immediate response to potential threats in the country's airspace.
“We have seen examples of flight profiles of Russian aircraft simulating some form of air-to-ground attack,” says William Cooper, Typhoon air wing commander. LBC. He adds that this is not only a concern in itself, but “they could come quite close to UK territory and our territorial waters, which is a greater concern for our security.”
However, the UK is using these threats to enhance itself and is currently in a “general push to become more lethal”, according to Rob McCartney of the Anti-Submarine Unit. He considers that “increasing our killing power is part of deterrence” and that, in order to do this, they have acquired new offensive weapons.
How Russian aircraft behave in the UK
“I saw them approach within a few miles and then turn around and come back,” says Air Marshal Edward Stringer. Although he adds that they have their doubts: “One can imagine that what they are doing is trying to monitor our performance to intercept them.”
“Russian aircraft landed over the North Sea, setting up what appeared to be a simulated air-launched cruise ship attack,” he concludes.
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