The Russian military launched sweeping maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea featuring warplanes capable of carrying hypersonic missiles on Friday, in a show of force amid a surge in tensions following an incident with a British destroyer in the Black Sea.
Moscow said one of its warships fired warning shots and a warplane dropped bombs in the path of British destroyer Defender on Wednesday to force her out of an area near Crimea that Russia claims as its territorial waters.
Britain denied that account, insisted its ship wasn't fired upon and said she was sailing in Ukrainian waters.
The Russian drills that began Friday in the eastern Mediterranean come as a British carrier strike group is in the area.
Earlier this week, British and US F-35 fighters from HMS Queen Elizabeth flew combat sorties against the Islamic State group.
Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, allowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government to reclaim control over most of the country after a devastating civil war.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that a pair of MiG-31 fighter jets capable of carrying Kinzhal hypersonic missiles arrived at the Russian airbase in Syria for the exercise.
The Hemeimeem airbase, in the coastal province of Latakia, serves as the main hub for Moscow's operations in the country.
It's the first time the warplanes capable of carrying Kinzhal have been deployed outside Russia's borders.
The military says the Kinzhal flies at 10 times the speed of sound and has a range of up to 2000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles).
The Defense Ministry said the maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean involve several warships, two submarines and long-range Tu-22M3 bombers along with other combat aircraft.
The supersonic, nuclear-capable Tu-22M3s were first deployed to Syria last month in a demonstration of an increased Russian military foothold in the Mediterranean.
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