Britain's RAF intercepts six Russian bombers over Black Sea
Britain's Royal Air Force said Wednesday it had intercepted six Russian bomber planes flying close to NATO air space over the Black Sea.
The Eurofighter Typhoons launched early Monday from their base in Romania after the Russian Su-24 Fencer planes were spotted, the RAF said in a statement.
It said there had been ‘significant Russian air activity through most of the night’.
The Russian aircraft eventually turned towards Crimea, the RAF said.
The operation ‘was in accordance with the NATO Enhanced Air Policing (EAP) mission, whereby the RAF operates alongside its NATO ally to deter Russian aggression, reassure our friends in Romania and assure NATO allies of our commitment to collective defence,’ the statement said.
Romanian Defence Minister Mihai Fifor earlier said such ‘provocations’ by Russia had become ‘frequent’ in recent months.
Four RAF Typhoons have been deployed at the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in southeast Romania where several hundred US troops are also stationed.
The move was part of NATO's beefed-up defences on its eastern flank following Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The US Air Force has four F-15C Eagles based in neighbouring Bulgaria.
More from Defence Notes
-
![Modular and attritable equipment must be a priority: US military]()
Modular and attritable equipment must be a priority: US military
Senior officers and representatives from the US Army, US Air Force and US Navy emphasised the need to expedite acquisition projects for systems and platforms that are more modular. They also highlighted that the loss of equipment is acceptable.
-
![Amazon Project Kuiper offers network-centric approach to sovereignty of space systems (Studio)]()
Amazon Project Kuiper offers network-centric approach to sovereignty of space systems (Studio)
Shephard's Alix Valenti interviewed Project Kuiper's Don Brown at DSEI 2025, discussing the company's innovative approach to sovereignty of space communications systems, which focuses on being able to control the network rather than ownership of satellite constellations.
-
![Amazon Project Kuiper emphasises user-friendly solutions for multi-domain connectivity (Studio)]()
Amazon Project Kuiper emphasises user-friendly solutions for multi-domain connectivity (Studio)
At DSEI 2025, Shephard's Alix Valenti spoke to Project Kuiper's Rich Pang about the importance of enabling seamless communication between allied forces such as NATO members in challenging operational environments.
-
![Amazon Project Kuiper teams up with GRC to offer governments unprecedented capabilities (Studio)]()
Amazon Project Kuiper teams up with GRC to offer governments unprecedented capabilities (Studio)
At DSEI 2025, Amazon Project Kuiper's Don Brown and GRC's Steve Slater talked to Shephard's Alix Valenti about how their partnership can offer unique capabilities in defence SATCOM to government customers, with a focus on assurance, security and choice.
-
![Israel defence ministry pushes ambitious spending plans for tanks, drones and KC-46 aircraft]()
Israel defence ministry pushes ambitious spending plans for tanks, drones and KC-46 aircraft
The procurement and acceleration production plans – some of which still await approval – across the air and land domains will aim to strengthen the operational needs of the Israel Defense Forces.
