More high-end RAF planes depart from RAF bases at Fairford and Brize Norton as the Russian invasion of Ukraine reaches its 10th day. In recent days we have seen B-52s, CV-22 Ospreys, Airbus Tankers and spy planes take off from airbases in south-west Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
The latest flights saw two F-15 jets roar over Gloucestershire, moving over Gloucester at around 1.30pm on Tuesday March 8 and continuing over the Forest of Dean.
This follows US Air Force B-52 jets departing RAF Fairford and RAF tankers continuing to fly in and out of nearby RAF Brize Norton, helping to refuel Typhoon jets a- above Eastern Europe.
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Much of the activity relates to a NATO mission to defend Allied airspace against Russia in the face of its invasion of Ukraine. NATO’s Allied Air Command confirmed that RAF Airbus planes flying from Brize Norton helped refuel and support Typhoon fighters over Europe trying to defend the region after Russian aggression .
They said: “The RAF’s Eurofighter Typhoon fighters took to the skies as part of the NATO mission to secure NATO airspace, as part of the Allied response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.”
On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Russia’s bombing of a nuclear power plant in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia could “directly threaten the security of all of Europe”.
This is a live blog and updates will appear below. Scroll down to read updates as they are added to the blog.
