British Defense Minister Ben Wallace spoke about the interceptions of Russian aircraft. According to him, Russia used aviation to spy on the aircraft carrier strike Group (AUG) of the Royal Navy (Navy) of Great Britain, led by the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth. This is reported by the UK Defense Journal.
According to Wallace, Russian planes were tracking British ships in the Mediterranean. He noted that F-35 carrier-based fighters from the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth intercepted 30 times Russian planes that took off from airfields in Syria.
Earlier, the British Defense Ministry reported the fall of the F-35 Lightning II fighter into the sea. The plane crashed into the sea during scheduled flights from the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth. The pilot ejected and was rescued by the ship's crew.
In September, Russia deployed five Project 636 Varshavyanka submarines in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time. The submarines are armed with Kalibr-PL cruise missiles.
In July, Konstantin Sivkov, Deputy President of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences (RARAN) for Information Policy, Doctor of Military Sciences, compared the capabilities of the British AUG with the Russian naval strike group (KUG). He noted the range of Russian anti-ship cruise missiles.
Daniil Irinin