Note from the blogster: We have to be careful when relating stories read in the MSM. Who knows who is telling the truth?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
October 23rd, 2015, by Jon E. Dougherty
Have you ‘liked’ NationalSecurity.news on Facebook? Click here!
Have you visited our online store? Click here for the NationalSecurity.news Commissary online!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reblogged from www.theguardian.com
Defence attache called to Moscow to clarify ‘inaccurate’ newspaper reports concerning RAF rules of engagement in Iraq
Russia’s defence ministry has summoned the British defence attache over
reports in Sunday newspapers claiming that RAF pilots were given licence to
shoot down Russian jets in Iraq if
threatened.
The reports in the Daily Star on Sunday and the Sunday Times were described
by the UK Foreign Office as inaccurate. The report said RAF Tornado fighters
launching airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq were using missiles
designed for aerial combat.
The British embassy in Moscow confirmed that the defence attache had been
asked to clarify the UK’s position and had visited the Russian ministry of
defence in Moscow on Sunday.
According to a British government source, Russia accepted the explanation.
A Foreign Office spokesperson in London said the defence attache had
expressed concern over Russia’s Syria policy during the meeting: “The Russian
government sought clarification over inaccurate newspaper reports concerning
RAF rules of engagement in Iraq. The defence attache reiterated the British
government’s concerns about Russia’s military operation in Syria, including
targeting legitimate opposition groups, using unguided weaponry and leading to
large numbers of civilian deaths.”
October 23rd, 2015, by Jon E. Dougherty
(NationalSecurity.news) In a little-noticed story posted at the International Business Times
last week, the British government substantially raised the stakes in
the Syrian civil war: Without much fanfare, London gave its air force
pilots the authority to shoot down any Russian warplanes that threaten
them.
The Times, in its online edition, noted that, as relations between the West and Russia continue to sour amid competing interests in war-torn Syria, RAF (Royal Air Force) pilots were given approval to engage any Russian jets that they perceive as an immediate threat as they fly missions in support of rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Russia, meanwhile, is supporting Assad.
As the Times further reported:
RAF Tornado pilots have been instructed to avoid contact with Russian aircraft while engaged in missions for Operation Shader – the codename for the RAF’s anti-ISIS work in Iraq and Syria. But their aircraft have been armed with air-to-air missiles and the pilots have been given the green light to defend themselves if they are threatened by Russian pilots.
“The first thing a British pilot will do is to try to avoid a situation where an air-to-air attack is likely to occur — you avoid an area if there is Russian activity,” an unidentified source from the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) told The Sunday Times. “But if a pilot is fired on or believes he is about to be fired on, he can defend himself. We now have a situation where a single pilot, irrespective of nationality, can have a strategic impact on future events.”
Britain has deployed Tornado fighter-bombers in Syria as part of a U.S.-led air coalition flying in support of anti-Assad forces. They are armed with Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air (AIM-132) Missiles, which are capable of reaching speeds three times that of sound and have a longer range than other air-to-air missiles in its class. This military technology would allow RAF pilots to engage Russian planes without being in range of the enemy’s missiles.
The Sunday Times‘ report quoted a defense source as saying, “Up till now RAF Tornados have been equipped with 500lb satellite-guided bombs — there has been no or little air-to-air threat. But in the last week the situation has changed. We need to respond accordingly.”
“We need to protect our pilots but at the same time we’re taking a step closer to war,” said another source. “It will only take one plane to be shot down in an air-to-air battle and the whole landscape will change.”
The Times, in its online edition, noted that, as relations between the West and Russia continue to sour amid competing interests in war-torn Syria, RAF (Royal Air Force) pilots were given approval to engage any Russian jets that they perceive as an immediate threat as they fly missions in support of rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Russia, meanwhile, is supporting Assad.
As the Times further reported:
RAF Tornado pilots have been instructed to avoid contact with Russian aircraft while engaged in missions for Operation Shader – the codename for the RAF’s anti-ISIS work in Iraq and Syria. But their aircraft have been armed with air-to-air missiles and the pilots have been given the green light to defend themselves if they are threatened by Russian pilots.
“The first thing a British pilot will do is to try to avoid a situation where an air-to-air attack is likely to occur — you avoid an area if there is Russian activity,” an unidentified source from the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) told The Sunday Times. “But if a pilot is fired on or believes he is about to be fired on, he can defend himself. We now have a situation where a single pilot, irrespective of nationality, can have a strategic impact on future events.”
Britain has deployed Tornado fighter-bombers in Syria as part of a U.S.-led air coalition flying in support of anti-Assad forces. They are armed with Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air (AIM-132) Missiles, which are capable of reaching speeds three times that of sound and have a longer range than other air-to-air missiles in its class. This military technology would allow RAF pilots to engage Russian planes without being in range of the enemy’s missiles.
The Sunday Times‘ report quoted a defense source as saying, “Up till now RAF Tornados have been equipped with 500lb satellite-guided bombs — there has been no or little air-to-air threat. But in the last week the situation has changed. We need to respond accordingly.”
“We need to protect our pilots but at the same time we’re taking a step closer to war,” said another source. “It will only take one plane to be shot down in an air-to-air battle and the whole landscape will change.”
Have you visited our online store? Click here for the NationalSecurity.news Commissary online!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comment is appreciated and helps me in choosing various subjects for my posts. Thank you. Ce blogger apprécie vos commentaires qui l´aident à choisir de nouveaux thèmes.. Seus comentarios são bemvindos e ajudam este blogger na escolha de uma variedade de temas.