Lossiemouth jets scrambled

[Typhoon93]

Typical of the press to put an image of a Tonka on the article instead of a Typhoon.

Aren't the response times (or approximate response times) classified information? I believe it used to be - did the MOD recently release that information for the press to publish it?

RAF fighter jets scrambled to intercept two Russian military planes flying through international airspace - Mirror Online

[Simplythebeast]

What a ridiculous report (as usual). Alledgedly an RAF spokesman said of the Bear...
“It’s like a big game. Every time they try to push it a bit further. The problem is Russia’s Bears are so old and slow they can be tailed by helicopters.

“Our Typhoons have to keep going around because they can’t stay behind them.”

[thesimtech]

The Dail Mail got it right, though.

That bastion of British jouralism, The Dail Mail, got the correct pictures. Which is unlike them!!

[KiloB]

BBC Intercept

Interesting to note the Bear has "BBC" boldly emblazoned across the Rudder!
Well we always suspected.
KB

[nmt]

'scramble'

I believe they were given a launch instruction, not 'scrambled'.

[BOAC]

Originally Posted by An RAF source

The problem is Russia’s Bears are so old and slow they can be tailed by helicopters.

“Our Typhoons have to keep going around because they can’t stay behind them.”

What??!! Who was that? At least that well-known helicopter, the Lightning, could 'stay behind them'.

[barnstormer1968]

Have the RAF or Brit army used any type of helicopter to 'tail' a Russian aircraft.
I'm not quite sure what 'tail' means but if it refers to flying behind something then even if a chopper was doing 120kts and the other other aircraft was doing 400kts then the helicopter would in fact be able to easily stay behind the aircraft it was tailing

[nutnurse]

Are you sure it wasn't a scorched, scotched Salmond they were keeping an eye on?

[Just This Once...]

Yeah the Bear is famous for being slow.

Does it still hold the speed record for turboprops?

[TEEEJ]

First QRA for RAF Lossiemouth

[Lima Juliet]

Well done Chaps! (in more ways than one!)

[clunckdriver]

Are we living in a time warp? my nav and I were intercepting these "mixmasters" way back in the fifties, maybe Putin is the reincarnation of Stalin!

[barnstormer1968]

There are probably pilots thinking the same about the B52

[Coltishall. loved it]

If you zoom in you can see typhoon with his hands above canopy trying to slow down and zoom in further and there are "people" in the back of the bear peddlin!

[Willard Whyte]

Possible new leftist administration amenable to 'visits' from anti-Western a/c from East of Greenwich.

Grenada 31 years on...

Luckily 55:45 against a new 'Cuba' on our doorstep, turn-back was awaiting word from Soviet High Command..., err, I mean that nice Mr Putin and his band of lackeys...

[West Coast]

Dunno about a helo, but the USN launched an unarmed A-6 to protect the CBG from a Bear snooping around. A rather low point.

[barnstormer1968]

I've just heard a radio news story saying that six a Russian fighters got close to North American airspace and were intercepted by American and Canadian aircraft.
I wonder if they used helicopters or fixed wing aircraft for the intercept

[fergineer]

Bears slow, don't think so, remember pulling alongside one in a Nimrod, Mach trim CB. Pulled, feeling like we matched them and then they opened up and left us for dead.

[fitliker]

Two of the eight aircraft intercepted in the Artic last week were Mig 31 escorts and a fuel tanker.
Having fighter escorts with modern missiles on board might make it a bit more difficult than shooting fish in a barrel.

[Once A Brat]

....you mean that this isn't a Typhoon??

As we were talking about QRA and the press getting the wrong aircraft, I thought it was time for a gratuitous picture of a Lightning, just to keep the old boys awake.....