Two Royal Air Force Typhoons intercepted two Russian Tu-160 Blackjack bombers in a “UK area of interest” on Wednesday. The RAF jets scrambled from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire as the Russian bombers entered an area of interest, but the bombers did not enter UK airspace, an? RAF spokesperson told The Independent. The fighters escorted the bombers away from Russian airspace south across the North Sea. Russian bombers have routinely tested the response times of western countries, including across Europe, near Alaska, and in the Pacific.
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.