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PRESIDENT Putin’s doomsday jet was intercepted by RAF fighters on a mission over the Baltic today.
Typhoon fighters shadowed the nuclear command and control aircraft as it flew in and out of the city of Kaliningrad near Nato’s borders.
UK MOD Crown copyright
Two RAF Typhoon’s were scrambled to intercept Putin’s doomsday plane[/caption]
UK MOD Crown copyright
The dramatic event unfolded today as the menacing plane flew in and out of the Russian exclave edging close to Nato territory[/caption]
AFP
A source said it was possible Putin may have been on board[/caption]
The modified Tupulev 214 was built for Vladimir Putin to issue nuclear orders in the even of Word War Three.
British fighter bombers scrambled from Estonia where they based as part of a Nato mission.
They escorted the doomsday jet and two Su-30 fighters through international airspace as it flew in and out of the Russian exclave.
Nato said it had noticed a spike in VIP flights to and from Kaliningrad, which borders the alliance members of Poland and Lithuania.
It is not known who was on board.
A source said: “The Russians only use this plane for people of importance.
“It is possible it could have had Putin on board or one of his top lieutenants.”
The doomsday flight came as Nato chiefs prepare to travel to Vilnius, in Lithuania, for a summit next week.
It comes as Russia claimed to have foiled a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow that prompted authorities to briefly close one of the city’s international airports.
The daring kamikaze drone attack, believed to have been unleashed by Ukraine, targeted Kubinka military air base, some 48 miles southwest of the Kremlin.
PUTIN’S DOOMSDAY PLANE
The menacing plane was designed to protect President Putin in the event of World War Three.
If a nuclear war broke out, the monster-sized plane is intended to act as an airborne control and command post – a Kremlin in the sky – so Vlad can continue to rule Russia.
The Soviet-era aircraft is the jewel of Putin’s fleet and designed to be flanked by two MiG-29s fighter jets as well as Tu-96 “Bear” and Tu-160 “White Swan” bombers.
The Tu-214 SR has a special antennae on top of its fuselage for soaking up intelligence signals and broadcasting secret messages.
It is windowless, except for the cockpit, and includes an advanced communications suite.
Two pods are lodged underneath the wings to act as an additional power supply to cope with the mass of onboard equipment.
UK MOD Crown copyright
The frighteningly fast British fighter bombers were busy today[/caption]
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