A RUSSIAN warplane has dropped tracking buoys into the sea near a Royal Navy aircraft carrier in the Arctic circle.

The Ministry of Defence called the act an “unsafe and unprofessional” show of force.

UK Carrier Strike Group Deployed To High North As Part Of Operation FirecrestHMS Prince of Wales Credit: Getty

The MoD said: “The Bear-F passed at low altitude and unnecessarily close to HMS Prince of Wales and dropped a large number of sonobuoys in close proximity to the carrier.”