UK, France scramble fighter jets to Russia nuclear bombers by Scotland
Two Russian nuclear bombers approached the Scottish coast on Thursday, prompting the UK and France to scramble fighter jets in what the UK Defense Minister has called “a military challenge” and an “act of aggression.” The two bombers were unresponsive to air control and only changed course when confronted by the responding jets. Russia continues to probe the airspace and waters near European countries, a practice that allows it to measure other country’s response times for intelligence purposes and also has the potential to normalize the practices, lowering attentiveness or recognition of a serious threat in the future.
