Britain intercepted Russian aircraft in expanded NATO Arctic mission – POLITICO

ABOARD THE HMS PRINCE OF WALES — Britain intercepted two Russian planes after moving an aircraft carrier to the Arctic Circle to support NATO missions.

The Ministry of Defence said Monday that two Russian “Bear F” maritime patrol aircraft had repeatedly approached the U.K.’s carrier strike group in the Norwegian sea in an “unsafe and unprofessional” maneuver late last week.

It said the Russian aircraft had dropped a large number of sonobuoys — devices that can act as underwater microphones to find and track submarines — in close proximity to the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier.