Russian Blackjack bomber
The Russian blackjack bomber was intercepted east of Scotland RAF

Two Russian bombers were intercepted by the RAF less than 50 miles from the northern coast of the UK. The Russian bombers that were found so close to the UK airspace were TU-160 Blackjacks.

The RAF has not divulged any more information about this incident for "operational reasons", notes a report by the Mirror. The Typhoon fighters that were scrambled were believed to be acting as a Quick Reaction Alert to catch up with the heavy, supersonic, strategic bombers.

It is not clear at this time why exactly there were two heavy Russia bombers at an altitude of 28,000 feet, off the east coast of Scotland, 40 nautical miles away from British soil. The report mentions that the RAF Typhoon jets escorted the bombers away from the UK and the Russian warplanes did not enter British sovereign airspace at any point.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has released a video of the incident showing RAF jets escorting the bombers out of UK airspace.

Two Belgian F-16s were also scrambled to intercept these bombers in Dutch airspace.

Similar incidents were also reported in 2016 and 2017 when Blackjack bombers had to be escorted away from the UK by the RAF.

Russian Tupolev Tu-160 "Blackjack" is the world's largest operational bomber, according to military today (MT). Pilots reportedly refer to it as the white swan. It is also the heaviest combat aircraft ever built and has the ability to cruise at Mach 1.9. It is a formidable war machine and has set a total of 44 world records, notes MT.

The aircraft can carry a total of 12 Kh-55 or 24 Kh-15 missiles both of which can deliver nuclear warheads. The internal weapons bays are divided into two compartments, where the aircraft can carry up to 40 tonnes of free-fall bombs. Because of its size and capacity, the report notes that the Blackjack is not a stealthy aircraft.