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RAF fighter jets scramble to intercept two Russian bombers capable of carrying nuclear missiles off Cornwall
Tupolev Tu95 Bear aircraft streaked along fringes of UK airspace, prompting the deployment of two Typhoons
Russian TV later screens footage of mid-air contact thought to have been filmed on previous interception
Country 'could not cope' if Russia attacked because our defences have been 'decimated', say military chiefs
David Cameron defiantly dismissed the incident, saying the Russians 'are trying to make some sort of a point'
But former air chiefs say number of British fighter squadrons has fallen from 26 at Cold War end to just seven
Footage screened on Russian TV shows the moment one of Vladimir Putin's 'Bear Bombers' is intercepted by British Typhoon jets over the English Channel.
The video was filmed from the window of one of the huge Cold War-era Tu-95 planes which Russian military chiefs are sending to 'buzz' British airspace.
It was released to Kremlin-backed TV channels in Moscow and is believed to have been shot during a stand-off in the skies off the coast of Bournemouth last month.
Two Russian bombers made similar manoeuvres this week, skirting British airspace off the coast of Cornwall, where they were intercepted and escorted by the two RAF Typhoon fighters.
The footage from TV Zvedza, which is owned by the Russian defence ministry, shows armed RAF and Nato jets flying in close formation with the plane and provides clear views of the bomber's turboprop engines.
One RAF Typhoon flies so close that the pilot can clearly be seen through the cockpit glass.
The footage emerged as former military top brass warned Britain cannot defend itself against the military threat posed by Russia.
Military chiefs said the UK ‘could not cope’ if Russia attacked because our defences had been ‘decimated’.
RAF fighter jets this week scrambled to intercept two Russian bombers capable of carrying nuclear missiles as they flew menacingly off the coast of Cornwall.
In a sign of the growing provocation from Russian president Vladimir Putin, the Tupolev Tu95 Bear aircraft streaked along the fringes of UK airspace, prompting the deployment of two state-of-the-art Typhoons.
David Cameron defiantly dismissed the incident, saying the Russians ‘are trying to make some sort of a point, and I don’t think we should dignify it with too much of a response’.
He added: ‘I think what this episode demonstrates is that we do have the fast jets, the pilots, the systems in place to protect the UK.’
But former air chiefs rubbished the Prime Minister’s claims, saying the number of British fighter squadrons had plunged from 26 at the end of the Cold War to just seven following heavy RAF cuts by successive governments.
Sir Michael Graydon, former head of the RAF, said: ‘I very much doubt whether the UK could sustain a shooting war against Russia. We are at half the capabilities we had previously.’
Russian military planes, ships and submarines have made at least 17 incursions close to the UK since the start of last year as the increasingly truculent regime in Moscow tests Western response times.
Sir Michael added: ‘They fly in these regions to check our air defences and have probably worked out we are not as sharp as we were.
‘They know it is provocative and they are doing it at a time when defence in the west is pretty wet compared to where they are.’
Since 2010, the Coalition has axed 30,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen as well as hundreds of warships, fighter jets, spy planes and tanks in a bid to cut the Ministry of Defence’s budget by £4.7 billion and plug a £40 billion hole in equipment spending.
Air Commodore Andrew Lambert, who commanded Allied forces in northern Iraq in 1999, said: ‘If the Russians turned up the heat, we would struggle badly.
‘If Putin wanted to attack, he would not send a pair of bombers, he would send the lot and saturate our defences; we couldn’t cope.
‘The Typhoon is a really good aircraft but with their relatively small numbers they would be overwhelmed: the Russians would outflank us, go around us or just go through us.’
He added: ‘The modern generation of politicians has grown up in absolute security – they’ve never felt a threat to their existence, safety or security.
‘They’ve taken peace for granted and decimated the Armed Forces. Let’s hope we don’t pay the price.’
The latest incident came as Defence Secretary Michael Fallon warned that Putin posed a ‘real and present danger’ to three former Soviet satellites in the Baltics – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Vladimir Komoyedov, chairman of the Russian parliament’s defence committee, accused Mr Fallon, 62, of ‘stupidity’.
He added: ‘I feel that he is a bit too old, not only in terms of his age but also in his ideas.’
The two Typhoons, armed with air-to-air missiles, were launched from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on Wednesday after the Russian bombers were spotted at 6.30pm.
They were escorted as they flew south, then turned around and flew north past the Irish coast.
Elizabeth Quintana, of defence think-tank the Royal United Services Institute, said: ‘We have to find a way to stop the Russians because there is a chance things could get very nasty very quickly.’
Britain at the mercy of Vladimir Putin's planes | Daily Mail Online
Tupolev Tu95 Bear aircraft streaked along fringes of UK airspace, prompting the deployment of two Typhoons
Russian TV later screens footage of mid-air contact thought to have been filmed on previous interception
Country 'could not cope' if Russia attacked because our defences have been 'decimated', say military chiefs
David Cameron defiantly dismissed the incident, saying the Russians 'are trying to make some sort of a point'
But former air chiefs say number of British fighter squadrons has fallen from 26 at Cold War end to just seven
Footage screened on Russian TV shows the moment one of Vladimir Putin's 'Bear Bombers' is intercepted by British Typhoon jets over the English Channel.
The video was filmed from the window of one of the huge Cold War-era Tu-95 planes which Russian military chiefs are sending to 'buzz' British airspace.
It was released to Kremlin-backed TV channels in Moscow and is believed to have been shot during a stand-off in the skies off the coast of Bournemouth last month.
Two Russian bombers made similar manoeuvres this week, skirting British airspace off the coast of Cornwall, where they were intercepted and escorted by the two RAF Typhoon fighters.
The footage from TV Zvedza, which is owned by the Russian defence ministry, shows armed RAF and Nato jets flying in close formation with the plane and provides clear views of the bomber's turboprop engines.
One RAF Typhoon flies so close that the pilot can clearly be seen through the cockpit glass.
The footage emerged as former military top brass warned Britain cannot defend itself against the military threat posed by Russia.
Military chiefs said the UK ‘could not cope’ if Russia attacked because our defences had been ‘decimated’.
RAF fighter jets this week scrambled to intercept two Russian bombers capable of carrying nuclear missiles as they flew menacingly off the coast of Cornwall.
In a sign of the growing provocation from Russian president Vladimir Putin, the Tupolev Tu95 Bear aircraft streaked along the fringes of UK airspace, prompting the deployment of two state-of-the-art Typhoons.
David Cameron defiantly dismissed the incident, saying the Russians ‘are trying to make some sort of a point, and I don’t think we should dignify it with too much of a response’.
He added: ‘I think what this episode demonstrates is that we do have the fast jets, the pilots, the systems in place to protect the UK.’
But former air chiefs rubbished the Prime Minister’s claims, saying the number of British fighter squadrons had plunged from 26 at the end of the Cold War to just seven following heavy RAF cuts by successive governments.
Sir Michael Graydon, former head of the RAF, said: ‘I very much doubt whether the UK could sustain a shooting war against Russia. We are at half the capabilities we had previously.’
Russian military planes, ships and submarines have made at least 17 incursions close to the UK since the start of last year as the increasingly truculent regime in Moscow tests Western response times.
Sir Michael added: ‘They fly in these regions to check our air defences and have probably worked out we are not as sharp as we were.
‘They know it is provocative and they are doing it at a time when defence in the west is pretty wet compared to where they are.’
Since 2010, the Coalition has axed 30,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen as well as hundreds of warships, fighter jets, spy planes and tanks in a bid to cut the Ministry of Defence’s budget by £4.7 billion and plug a £40 billion hole in equipment spending.
Air Commodore Andrew Lambert, who commanded Allied forces in northern Iraq in 1999, said: ‘If the Russians turned up the heat, we would struggle badly.
‘If Putin wanted to attack, he would not send a pair of bombers, he would send the lot and saturate our defences; we couldn’t cope.
‘The Typhoon is a really good aircraft but with their relatively small numbers they would be overwhelmed: the Russians would outflank us, go around us or just go through us.’
He added: ‘The modern generation of politicians has grown up in absolute security – they’ve never felt a threat to their existence, safety or security.
‘They’ve taken peace for granted and decimated the Armed Forces. Let’s hope we don’t pay the price.’
The latest incident came as Defence Secretary Michael Fallon warned that Putin posed a ‘real and present danger’ to three former Soviet satellites in the Baltics – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Vladimir Komoyedov, chairman of the Russian parliament’s defence committee, accused Mr Fallon, 62, of ‘stupidity’.
He added: ‘I feel that he is a bit too old, not only in terms of his age but also in his ideas.’
The two Typhoons, armed with air-to-air missiles, were launched from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on Wednesday after the Russian bombers were spotted at 6.30pm.
They were escorted as they flew south, then turned around and flew north past the Irish coast.
Elizabeth Quintana, of defence think-tank the Royal United Services Institute, said: ‘We have to find a way to stop the Russians because there is a chance things could get very nasty very quickly.’
Britain at the mercy of Vladimir Putin's planes | Daily Mail Online
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