This is the moment two RAF Typhoon fighter jets intercepted a Russian ‘doomsday plane’ after they were scrambled close to the NATO border.
The British fighters shadowed the Russian Air Force Tu-214SR, a modified passenger jet that can act as a flying command post, as it flew over the Baltic Sea.
The RAF said its jets were scrambled from an Estonian air base, adding that the Tu-214SR was flying in international air space under the control of NATO allies.
It was travelling between mainland Russia and the Kaliningrad Oblast, and was being escorted by a pair of Su-30M Flanker Hs as it entered and exited the exclave.
Vladimir Putin had the Tu-214SR built so that he could issue orders in the event of a nuclear of third World War, flying safely above battlefields below.
The British fighters, based in Estonia as part of an on-going NATO mission to secure the alliances borders, were pictured flying along-side the larger aircraft in images released by the RAF on Tuesday.
From the cockpit, the British pilots also snapped photos of the two Russian Su-30M Flanker Hs, which were escorting the Russian doomsday plane.
The Typhoons followed the Russian air force jet and its accompanying fighters as it flew in and out of the Kaliningrad region, which borders Poland and Lithuania (both NATO members) and the Baltic Sea.
‘RAF Typhoons in Estonia scrambled today to intercept a Russian Air Force Tu-214 flying in international airspace under the control of @NATO allies as it transited south and then north again with 2x Su-30M Flanker Hs between mainland Russia and the Kaliningrad Oblast,’ the RAF wrote in a message on Twitter.
In order for Moscow’s aircraft to reach it without flying through NATO airspace, Russian pilots must fly between Estonia and Finland (which are also NATO members) and over the Baltic Sea.
NATO has reported a rise in VIP flights to and from Kaliningrad in recent months.
It was not known who was onboard the Tu-214SR during Tuesday’s incident, but it is understood the plane is only used for ‘people of importance’.
‘It is possible it could have had Putin on board or one of his top lieutenants,’ The Sun reported, citing a source.
Little information is available about the full capabilities of the 214SR plane, but it is known to carry a MRC-411 multi-intelligence payload – which includes a number of sensors and radar technology.
Four onboard generators provide the on-bard systems with plenty of power, while external fuel tanks allow the jet to stay in the air for up to 10,000 kilometers.
This, it is understood, is to allow the Russian president to stay in the air in the event of nuclear war, while still giving commands to his forces on the ground.
Two 214SRs entered service in 2008, but they didn’t become public knowledge until a few years later when one featured in the Moscow air show.
