Britain said a Russian Bear-F maritime patrol aircraft flew at low altitude and passed “unnecessarily close” to HMS Prince of Wales, the flagship of a carrier strike group operating in the Norwegian Sea.
The July 2 incident, which Britain called “unsafe and unprofessional,” comes ahead of a NATO meeting in Ankara on Tuesday, where NATO members are set to pledge €70 billion ($80 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine for 2026.
JOIN US ON TELEGRAM
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
“The Bear-F...dropped a large number of sonobuoys in close proximity to the carrier,” the UK Ministry of Defence said in a statement, referring to devices which are used to detect and track submarines.
Two F-35 fighter jets from the HMS Prince of Wales were sent to intercept the Russian aircraft until it left the area.
Britain’s carrier strike group is currently deployed under NATO’s command in the High North, as part of efforts to boost maritime security given concern over Russian aggression in the region.
“Russian aggression”
The incident comes as relations between the two countries remain at a historic low over the Russia-Ukraine war and longstanding spying allegations.
The Russian Su-35 and Su-27 jets intercepted the Royal Air Force (RAF) Rivet Joint aircraft last spring, with the Su-27 at one point flying as close as six meters (19 feet) to the British plane’s nose, the statement added.
The surveillance aircraft was conducting a routine flight in international airspace as part of the UK’s work alongside allies to secure NATO’s eastern flank.
Ukraine Hits 2 Defense Plants, Crimea Bridges, Belgorod Airfield Depot
Former UK Defence Secretary John Healey said the incident would not “deter the UK’s commitment to defend NATO, our allies, and our interests from Russian aggression” at the time.
The intercepts came days after Healey announced that the Royal Navy had tracked and “seen off” three Russian submarines on an alleged month-long “covert operation” in Atlantic waters “north of the UK” near vital undersea cables and pipelines.
Healey made details of the monitoring operation public on April 9.
He warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that any attempt to damage UK cables and pipelines would have “serious consequences.”
According to Healey, the UK monitoring mission involved around 500 personnel and saw UK aircraft fly more than 450 hours while a navy frigate covered several thousand nautical miles.
A defense review in 2025 concluded that Russia poses an “immediate and pressing” threat to the nation.
The British government under successive prime ministers has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
As a result of the latest incident, defense and foreign ministry officials filed a formal complaint against the Russian embassy.
You can also highlight the text and press Ctrl + Enter
