The figures appear in the department’s annual report and accounts, which describes the Quick Reaction Alert system as “fighter aircraft in the UK on constant standby, 24/7, 365 days a year, supported by a comprehensive air defence network.”

The launches were flown by Typhoons from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire and RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, supported by Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft from RAF Brize Norton. Three of the six were in response to Russian aircraft, with the report noting the RAF worked “in close cooperation with NATO allies.” The remaining three were “in response to potential incidents on civilian aircraft.”

Quick Reaction Alert is maintained continuously from the two main operating bases, with Coningsby covering the southern half of the country and Lossiemouth the north, allowing aircraft to reach either approach to UK airspace at short notice. Crews are held at readiness around the clock, and launches are ordered through the Control and Reporting Centre at RAF Boulmer, which manages the recognised air picture and directs interceptors onto their targets.

Russian military flights approaching UK airspace are typically long-range maritime patrol or reconnaissance aircraft transiting international airspace to the north of Scotland, frequently operating without transponders or filed flight plans. Interceptors escort them clear of the area of interest and the aircraft do not enter sovereign airspace.

Launches in response to civilian aircraft usually follow a loss of radio contact, a transponder problem or an alert raised on board, and can involve Typhoons going supersonic to reach the aircraft quickly, which is the cause of the sonic booms occasionally heard over parts of the country.

The same Typhoon force contributes to NATO air policing commitments abroad, with detachments deploying to the Baltic states and elsewhere on the alliance’s eastern flank alongside the standing UK commitment.