British F-35s intercept Russian aircraft over Norwegian Sea

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ABOARD THE HMS PRINCE OF WALES — Britain intercepted two Russian planes after moving an aircraft carrier to the Arctic Circle to support NATO missions.

The Ministry of Defence said Monday that two Russian “Bear F” maritime patrol aircraft had repeatedly approached the U.K.’s carrier strike group in the Norwegian sea in an “unsafe and unprofessional” maneuver late last week.

It said the Russian aircraft had dropped a large number of sonobuoys — devices that can act as underwater microphones to find and track submarines — in close proximity to the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier.

The Russian planes were intercepted and escorted by British F-35 jets from the carrier on July 2. The HMS Prince of Wales — one of Britain’s two aircraft carriers — is the first European aircraft carrier conducting NATO air defense operations with F-35 jets.

The move comes as Britain has for the first time taken command of the alliance’s special forces unit, described by the MoD as “the spearhead” of NATO’s rapid deployment teams and “able to deploy anywhere in the world within days.”

Last week it was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s £100 million superyacht is traversing the coast of Norway to return to Russia.

Speaking to POLITICO, Defense Secretary Dan Jarvis refused to say whether the HMS Prince of Wales was tracking the vessel, but said: “We know where it is.”

He added: “The fact that there’s the movement of the yacht, again is another combat indicator — to use an expression from my past — that he [Putin] is increasingly under pressure.”