£125m RAF Eurofighter Typhoon sends 'emergency distress' call over Inverness Scotland
THE RAF's new Eurofighter Typhoon jet sounded an emergency alarm as it flew over Scotland on Monday.
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The EF-2000, initially delivered only with an air defense capability, has been continuously upgraded through the years and a first operational milestone was reached with the Block 5 upgrade. The RAF currently fields eight squadrons in the UK and a permanent detachment in the Falklands equipped with the Typhoon.
The emergency was first reported by military aviation tracking site CivMilAir on Twitter.
Sharing a screenshot which showed the aircraft was flying at more than 15,000 feet, CivMilAir tweeted: “Royal Air Force Typhoon on an emergency squawk #Squawk7700”
A Squawk 7700 is the aviation term for a general emergency.
Following the alert, the Air Force confirmed the aircraft had hit a bird which had sparked a safety procedure.
The RAF Typhoon returned to base.
A spokesperson for the MoD said: “We can confirm that an RAF Typhoon aircraft struck a bird shortly after take-off this afternoon.
"And as part of normal safety procedures immediately returned to base.
“There was no risk posed to either the aircraft or pilot”.