From the Liveblog of
Sunday, September 8, 2013
British jets scrambled in Cyprus
Two British fighter jets were scrambled in Cyprus, after unidentified aircraft thought to have taken off from Syria entered international airspace, UK media revealed on Sunday.
A British defense ministry official told Sky News that British Typhoon eurofighters took off from the RAF’s Akrotiri airbase on Monday “to investigate unidentified aircraft to the east of Cyprus.”
The planes, the statement said, were “flying legally in international airspace and no intercept was required.”
Some media outlets speculated that the Syrian aircraft were testing British air defenses.
Amid increased talk of a US-led strike on Syria, last week the RAF sent six fighter planes to Cyprus, in what the British defense ministry termed a “precautionary measure.”
Aaron Kalman
The Times of Israel Community.