The encounter can be revealed as figures show how the RAF is being repeatedly scrambled to intercept the Kremlin's bombers.

This is the tense moment two RAF Typhoon jets are warned by Russian forces that they 'will be destroyed' if they do not move away from their airspace over the Black Sea.

The high stakes game is captured in the footage taken over the Black Sea where a Russian message transmitted to all three RAF aircraft says: ‘Ivory Eagle, Ivory Eagle, Ivory Eagle, Delta Echo ...

RAF jets rapidly redeploy from Romania as Iran threatens Israel. And a rookie pilot scouting Russian military activity over the Black Sea experiences a close call.

The Rivet Joint is shown on a mission to gather intelligence on Russian forces engaged in the all-out attack on Ukraine (Picture: Channel 4, Top Guns: Inside the RAF/Metro) A top secret RAF spy ...

An American intelligence-gathering aircraft has operated off the coast of Crimea for the first time since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.

A Russian pilot attempted to shoot down an RAF surveillance plane last year, sources have told the BBC. Moscow said at the time that a missile was released as a result of a "technical malfunction".