( CNN ) Two UK Royal Air Force jets intercepted a pair of Russian aircraft flying near British airspace this week , the British Defence Ministry said Thursday , marking the latest in what NATO has said is an increase in Russian military flights near alliance members ' territory . The British Typhoon jets intercepted the Russian aircraft Wednesday over international waters near Cornwall , in southwestern England , a ministry representative said Thursday . `` The Russian planes were escorted by the RAF until they were out of the UK area of interest . At no time did the Russian military aircraft cross into UK sovereign airspace , '' the representative said . The Defence Ministry did n't specify what type of aircraft the Russians were flying . In November , NATO said its members ' jets had been scrambled more than 400 times in 2014 to intercept Russian military flights close to members ' territories -- a 50 % increase over the previous year . The increase harkens back to the days of the Cold War , NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said November 20 during a visit to NATO member Estonia . In a November report , the European Leadership Network listed more than 40 `` close military encounters between Russia and the West '' in the eight months from March to October . Three of those -- including a near collision between a Russian military plane and a Swedish passenger aircraft carrying 132 people -- were classified as `` high-risk '' incidents that could have led to direct military confrontation between Russia and the West , according to the report , titled `` Dangerous Brinksmanship . '' UK jets intercepted more than 100 Russian aircraft last year , according to the British Defence Ministry .
2013 : Russian military planes were spotted in international waters near Gibraltar . Russian aircraft did n't cross into British airspace , the Defence Ministry says .