British fighters scrambled to intercept Russian TU-95 strategic bombers off the coast of southern England on Wednesday, less than a month after a contentious overflight of the English Channel. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the Kremlin appears to be “trying to make some sort of a point,” and that he did not “think we should dignify it with too much of a response,” reported the BBC. The British government summoned the Russian ambassador to London to answer for an unannounced bomber incursion that jeopardized commercial flight safety on Jan. 28. Britain’s Defense Minister Michael Fallon said the previous incident was “the first time since the height of the Cold War” Russian bombers had flown down the Channel. “They are testing NATO, so we need to respond,” he added. The number of NATO scrambles to intercept unannounced Russian air activity nearly tripled in 2014, allied officials said previously.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
