WW3 fears explode as NATO intercepts Russian jets headed towards UK aircraft carrier | World | News
The Ministry of Defence (MoJ) said two Russian “Bear F” maritime patrol aircraft had repeatedly approached the carrier strike group in the Norwegian Sea last week, Politico reports. It said this was done in an “unsafe and unprofessional” manoeuvre. The ministry said the Russian aircraft had dropped a large number of sonobuoys near the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier – the first European aircraft carrier conducting NATO air defence operations with F-35 jets.
A sonobuoy is a device that acts as an underwater microphone, used to find and track submarines.
The planes were then intercepted and escorted by F-35 jets on July 2.
The HMS Prince of Wales departed from the Glen Mallan jetty in Loch Long, Argyll and Bute, bound for Nordic waters to provide security across the Atlantic and High North regions last month.
However, according to reports, the vessel had to dock in Norway for repairs, postponing its departure for commemorations marking the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence.
A senior naval source reportedly told the Daily Mail the carrier’s latest difficulties were “devastating for morale”.
The vessel, weighing 65,000 tonnes and costing £3billion, is typically based in Portsmouth.
It encountered difficulties back in 2022, when it experienced an “emerging mechanical issue” off the south coast, merely one day into its voyage to the US.
The most recent setback is described as a “minor technical issue” that necessitated docking the carrier in Stavanger, Norway.
