Cold War reheated - RAF Tornados foil Russian spy in sky
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It could have been an episode from the dark days of the Cold War.
Britain's air-defence radar system picks up a long-range Russian Bear bomber speeding towards the UK across the North Sea, apparently on a spying mission.
Within minutes, at a windswept RAF base, four airmen race to their fighter jets and roar away to intercept the intruder.
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Warning: A Tornado (top) escorts one of the Bear bombers
A tense stand-off in the sky follows before the Russians turn away.
It is the type of incident which was routine two decades ago. But this took place last week.
Two Bears were spotted during a major Royal Navy exercise to the north of the Outer Hebrides. Commanders believe they were planning to spy on the warships, including the aircraft carrier Illustrious.
Two Tornado F3 fighters took off from RAF Leuchars in Fife and intercepted the Bears in international airspace.
The pilots were close enough to wave but there was no radio contact.
After shadowing the Russians for some 15 minutes, they watched as the giant bombers turned and headed home to their base in Murmansk. In similar skirmishes during the 1970s and 80s, Soviet spies were sometimes spotted watching from the perimeter of RAF stations to time exactly how long it took jets to take off and intercept Bear bombers, probing the UK's defences and testing the response.
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On guard: Two Tornado F3 fighters were scrambled when Russian planes appeared on RAF radar screens
Nato pilots in those days were well accustomed to an almost daily aerial game of cat-and-mouse.
While such visits from the Russians have become extremely rare, the latest one is a reminder that Moscow's long-term ambitions are not entirely clear and that the old Cold War rivalries could well resurface.
Under President-Putin - a former KGB general - Russia has been flexing its economic muscle by cutting off gas flows to the West, highlighting Europe's growing dependence on its energy.
The Kremlin has also begun to take a more aggressive stance in foreign affairs.
Paul Jackson, editor of Jane's All The World's Aircraft, said, "The exercise was in international waters and the Russians have got just as much right to be there as we have.
"The RAF are telling them, 'We could do this for real if we wanted to, so go and tell your mates.'"
The Russian Embassy in London declined to comment.
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Tornado F3
Last week, RAF Leuchars in Fife scambled two Tornado F3 interceptors, when radar detected two Tupolev Tu-142 Bear Bombers and the alarm was sounded "Bears in the Air".

The RAF would not disclose the exact time of the incident, which was to the north of the Outer Hebrides. It did say that no contact was made between the aircraft.

The Russian Bear Foxtrot bombers are renowned maritime raiders that regularly probed the United Kingdom's airspace during the Cold War.

The Russian aircraft were snooping on Neptune Warrior, a Royal Navy exercise taking place near the Outer Hebrides last week.  Neptune Warrior was a live-fire naval training exercise involving warships, submarines and aircraft that took place between April 22 and May 3.



The Tornado's watched the Russians for approximately 15 minutes until the bombers returned to their home base in Murmansk.



During the Cold War in the 1970s and 1980s, Soviet spies were sometimes spotted watching from the perimeter of RAF stations to time exactly how long it took jets to take off and intercept Bear bombers, probing the United Kingdom's defences and testing the response. Nato pilots in those days were well accustomed to an almost daily aerial game of cat-and-mouse.

Squadrons of Phantom interceptors were on constant quick-reaction standby through the 1970s and 1980s to deal with the threat of Soviet long-range bombers engaging in a long-range attack on Great Britain.  The Bears can carry an arsenal of missiles, some nuclear-tipped, to strike NATO warships blocking the entrance to the vital North Atlantic sealanes between the United States and Europe.

In July, the Tornado will be replaced by the new Eurofighter Typhoon. Currently, RAF personnel on scrambling duty spend most of their time on counter-terrorist missions, checking out commercial airliners approaching Britain in ways that arouse suspicion, either because they have taken the wrong flight path or because the pilot has not contacted ground control.