Revealed: Four European nations scrambled air forces to intercept nuclear-capable Russian Blackjack bombers that flew from Norway to Spain last month
- RAF Typhoons scrambled to meet Russian planes off Shetland islands
- Four nations were involved in the intercept - France, UK, Norway and Spain
- The Russian bombers are capable of carrying up to 16 nuclear missiles
- Spanish media have said it is the furthest south they have seen bombers
Two Russian Blackjack bombers were intercepted flying back and forth to Northern Spain from the direction of Norway, it has emerged.
Four nations - Norway, the UK, France and Spain - all deployed their own jets as the TU-160 planes skirted the airspace of each country, flying around the UK.
Spanish media have said it is the furthest south an operation like this has had to take place.
This image of one of the Russian bombers was tweeted by the Ministry of Defence today
Norway was the first to detect the two Russian jets and scrambled two F-16 fighters to accompany them towards the north of Scotland.
Two RAF Typhoon jets then scrambled to intercept Russian Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack bombers just off the coast of Scotland.
Typhoon aircraft were launched from RAF Lossiemouth in northern Scotland during the incident, but the Ministry of Defence said the Russian jets did not enter UK airspace.
A RAF Typhoon jet similar to two that have been scrambled to intercept Russian planes (file picture)
The incident involving the Russian Blackjack bombers (one of which is pictured, off Shetland) is the latest example of brinkmanship by President Putin (right)
Another pair of Typhoons from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire also took off but were not required.
Skirting to the west of Ireland, the two Russian planes then head to Brittany.
Two French Rafale jets took over and intercepted the Blackjacks 100km from Brittany and escorted them to Mont-de-Marsan.
As the two jets flew along the Iberian coast, two F-18 Spanish fighter planes took over and all four aircraft got as far as Bilbao before turning back.
A statement by the French ministry of defence said: 'These interceptions and escorts were conducted in close cooperation between the two NATO operation centers of the north and south and the national air operations center (ANOC) in Lyon Mont-Verdun.'
The incident occurred on September 22, but the full details are only now emerging.
The Typhoon jets were scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth to deal with the Russian jets which flew close to British airspace off Shetland
In February this Blackjack bomber, capable of carrying 16 nuclear missiles, was intercepted by RAF Typhoons as it headed for UK airspace
A Russian Blackjack bomber (Tupolev Tu 160) being intercepted an RAF Tornado F3 fighter near Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, in March 2014
In November last year Typhoons were scrambled from Lossiemouth to intercept two Blackjack bombers in an almost identical incident and a month earlier Typhoons intercepted Russian jets over the North Sea.
In May 2015 two Bear strategic bombers were intercepted after being spotted north of Scotland.
Vladimir Putin has previously been accused of Cold War-style 'brinkmanship' over similar incidents with Nato aircraft across Europe, including more than 100 Russian planes intercepted in 2014.
Tensions mounted further when Turkish forces shot down a Russian jet after it allegedly entered Turkish airspace while operating missions in Syria.
Intercepts of Russian aircraft by NATO have increased over the last year amid heightened tensions between the West and Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.
The Blackjack is the world's largest operational bomber and is nicknamed the White Swan by the pilots.
It can travel at twice the speed of sound and carry 16 nuclear missiles.
It is possible the bombers were taking an unusual route to Syria, after a similar incident last November when two Blackjacks came close to entering UK airspace and Typhoons were scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland to intercept them.
The Russian aircraft were making an out-of-the-ordinary 8,000-mile trip round Europe on their way to a bombing mission in Syria.
The bombers departed from Olengorsk, in the Kola Peninsula and made their way westbound, coming close to Norwegian and British airspace, where they were met by the RAF.
Once intercepted by Britain's Typhoons, they made their way over the Atlantic Ocean and headed back east to Gibraltar, before firing their missiles from the Mediterranean Sea.
After flying over Syria, they took the usual route home, over Iran and the Caspian Sea, according to The Aviationist.
In October, Typhoons intercepted a Russian Tu-95 'Bear' over the North Sea and Russian warships passed through the Channel and had to be escorted by the Navy.
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