A Royal Air Force F-35B flies alongside a Russian Tu-142 Bear F maritime patrol aircraft after being scrambled from HMS Prince of Wales in the Norwegian Sea, July 2, 2026. (UK Ministry of Defence/X)
The United Kingdom scrambled two F-35 fighters to intercept a Russian aircraft that was closely tracking a British aircraft carrier, the British defense ministry said in a statement Monday.
The incident happened on Thursday in the Norwegian Sea, where a Russian Bear-F maritime patrol aircraft repeatedly approached the HMS Prince of Wales strike group, the ministry said.
The Bear-F “passed at low altitude and unnecessarily close” to the carrier, dropping “a large number” of sonobuoys nearby, the ministry said. Such buoys can be used for anti-submarine warfare operations.
The Russian maneuvers were deemed “unsafe and unprofessional,” according to the statement, which said the Russian aircraft did not respond to U.K. attempts to contact it.
The Russian aircraft was escorted away from the carrier by the two F-35 jets until it left the area, the ministry added.
The U.K. Carrier Strike Group is operating alongside other NATO allies as part of Arctic Sentry, a mission launched earlier this year to bolster the alliance’s military presence in the Arctic and North Atlantic. The mission was formed as part of a response to concerns about increased Russian and Chinese activity in the High North, which President Donald Trump has cited as a reason the U.S. should take over Greenland.
Intercepts between NATO and Russian aircraft are fairly routine. Often they occur without incident, though sometimes Russian maneuvers are regarded as overly provocative and dangerous.
