Posted on 10/16/2016 6:15:47 AM PDT by Jack Hydrazine
As the US officially enters the Yemen military campaign, the UK appears ready and willing to precipiate a catalytic event from which there is no going back. With relations between Russia and the West at post-Cold War lows and deteriorating fast, Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots have been given the go-ahead to shoot down Russian military jets when flying missions over Syria and Iraq, if they are endangered by them. The development comes with warnings that the UK and Russia are now "one step closer" to being at war, according to the Sunday Times.
While the RAF's 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, 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."
Where things get tricky is the qualifier "if he believes he is about to be fired on" - since this makes open engagement a function of threat evaluation in real time during stressed conditions, the likelihood of an escalation that could result in two warplanes shooting at each other, just jumped significantly.
The RAF Tornados aircraft will be armed with heat-seeking Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles (Asraams, also called AIM-132 missiles), the IBT adds. These weapons, which cost £200,000 each, have a longer range than other air-to-air missiles, allowing RAF pilots to shoot down enemy aircraft without being targeted themselves.
Providing cover to the largely underreported, if substantial escalation, according to the Sunday Times report an appraisal carried out by UK defence officials said: "It took six days for Russia to strike any Isis targets at all. Their air strikes have included moderate opposition groups who have been fighting to defend their areas from Isis. Among the targets hit were three field hospitals." In the past 24 hours Russia's Defence Ministry said that it has continued its air strikes on IS positions in Hama, Idlib, Latakia and Raqqa. It reported that the attacks resulted in the "complete destruction" of "53 fortified areas and strong points with armament and military hardware", seven ammunition depots, four field camps of "terrorists", one command centre, and artillery and mortar batteries.
Russia has countered that US airstrikes have failed to make much of an impact on ISIS targets, and as reported last month, a "mistaken" strike by the US coalition forces killed over 60 Syrian soldiers in a move Russia accused of being a provocation to war.
The Sunday Times' report quoted a defence 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."
But another source of the original story summarized the severity of the situation best when he said that "we need to protect our pilots but at the same time we're taking a step closer to war. It will only take one plane to be shot down in an air-to-air battle and the whole landscape will change."
“Hard to imagine Putin getting stupid with his only aircraft carrier...”
Which is why I think its a “decoy”. “Go ahead, take it out. See what happens”...type of move. Maybe a dare? I doubt if the Russians even need this flattop.
My perception of this vague source is that these "orders" to shoot down Russians come from the ROE. Doesn't mean it is going to happen, but RAF leadership must define the parameters for their positions pilots to engage Russians if things go sideways.
People need to forget the notion that the Russians are fighting terrorism. The Russians are propping up the Assad regime, that is their sole concern. If there was a group of militant nuns threatening Assad, the Russians would bomb them. ISIS forces facing east probably get a lot less attention than those facing west.
20 minute segment, pretty good analysis.
Obama hates the West that much? Figures.
And if nothing happens, Russian TV will show pictures of an “armada” transitting the English Channel. Putin benefits either way.
Hear! Hear!
People who talk about setting up no fly zones and now this forget that Syria is a sovereign nation. How all these liberals that hate war can vote for Hillary and these warmongers is beyond me.
I would think it is more likely that Western jets would be shot down by Russian anti-aircraft batteries than Russian fighters unless the Brits and Americans fire first on the Russian jets.
I didn't think the Brits were that stupid.
Day-am.
Anything to keep TPTB in power.
I guess even obama quailed at the thought, so we’ll ‘let’ the Royals drag us in to a world war.
That sounds about right. Regime change which we seem to be supporting, has proven over and over again to be very counterproductive. The Rooskies are supporting Assad and frankly scarlet...
What’s really disturbing is how the MSM won’t cover this crisis because it confirms the failure of Obama/Clinton foreign policy. Worrying about the Russians is “eighties thinking “ you know.
ATTACK WORLD POWERS
Quit fighting stupid wars, Iraq, Afganistan?
Send the U.S. Military to destroy Rothchild, Central Banks, Davos, Bilderberg, Warburg, Goldman Sachs, Ford, Rockefeller, Citi.
Those are America’s enemy. They sell useless debt.
Cruise missle them. Try then shoot them.
Needs to be repeated.
Russia has, for a couple of decades, realized that the destabilization of the Middle East and North Africa is not such a good idea, and for years (until recently), went along with UN and Security Council agendas to (supposedly) address those problems.
Turns out that the Russians aren't the ones purchased or intimidated by the Saudi's or HomoFascista Globalists.
I’m pleased they are propping up Assad. Every alternative is a Sunni jihadi theocracy. Unless you believe the bedtime story about vetted moderate opposition of course.
All the rebels are head choppers.
The analysis is pretty good, I agree. One point I think he misses is that US dominance and universalism lead to internal US corruption and the “globalist” move. That is what has led to internal dissension and inability to establish a coherent foreign policy.
Cool music to accompany History Repeating
Enjoy it while you can
As in Not Likely to Happen. Else WWIII.
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