British Typhoon fighter jets intercepted Theresa May’s private jet on Friday– to show off and prepare themselves for a made-up fight against Russia.
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s plane was involved in the exercise as military chiefs decided to see how quickly they could respond to a make-believe threat.
May was able to watch the mock-intercept from the cockpit as she arrived in UK-controlled skies, following a trip to Cyprus.
The jets came within 25 meters of May’s RAF Airbus Voyager to show off their air-to-air weapons systems, pulling up with wings tipped at 320mph.
May had been in Cyprus after the defeat of ISIS in Iraq, which RAF troops have been involved in from RAF Akrotiri.
At the base – which hosts 3,000 personnel and families – May called them the “pride of the nation.”
She then praised the RAF jets which flew from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire to meet her, applauding their “unique skill.”
On board though, the PM was playing Sudoku and reading The Incredible Crime novel, part of the Cambridge mysteries series.
Her journey on the Prime Minister’s RAF Airbus Voyager was lengthened by around one hour as a result of the exercise.
The RAF has enough practice in launching against Russian planes. Two jets were scrambled to intercept a pair of Russian bombers off the coast of Scotland in September.
They took off from the Lossiemouth base in Scotland on Wednesday to monitor the aircraft heading towards a UK “area of interest.”
At the time, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it was surprised so much attention was being paid to a routine flight.
“All flights by Russian military aircraft are carried out in strict compliance with international regulations on the use of airspace over neutral waters, without violating the borders of other countries," Major General Igor Konashenkov said.