RAF Typhoons scrambled to intercept Russian spy plane spotted near NATO airspace over Black Sea.
RAF warplanes are based in the eastern European nation as part of a NATO mission to protect the region and deter “Russian aggression”.
Thousands of soldiers, hundreds of tanks and scores of warships and warplanes are all on station in the Baltic states for NATO.
Russia denies any aggressive intent the region and is not shy about responding to NATO forces in-kind with troops and tanks of their own.
RAF Typhoons are tasked with the job of helping to police NATO airspace over the Baltic States from their base in Romania.
The RAF tweeted: “Typhoons based in Romania have been launched as a response to a Russian Il-20 Coot aircraft operating near NATO airspace over the Black Sea.”
Typhoons can reach speeds twice that of the speed of sound – capable hitting 1,550 mph.
The fighter plane is designed for air-to-air combat and each one costs £125 million, with 138 of them belonging to the RAF.
And each one is armed with revolver cannons alongside air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles alongside bombs.
The Russian aircraft was an Ilyushin IL-20 – known by NATO as a Coot – which is a propeller spy plane dating back to the Cold War.
It can fly at speeds of up to 419mph at altitudes of up to 38,700ft.
Putin and Russia have always denied any aggressive intent in the Baltic and have said their military build-up is just a response to NATO
Russia and the West are at each other’s throats over the ongoing conflict in Syria due to Putin’s support of dictator Bashar al-Assad.
