(Express) --- RAF fighter pilots have
been given the all clear SHOOT DOWN Russian planes if they come under attack
while carrying out missions over Iraq .
The order has been
given as it emerges British ministers have warned Russia
is making the situation in the Middle East
“much more dangerous”.
RAF jets will be
armed with advanced short range air-to-air missiles and British and Nato pilots
have been told to fight for their lives if they are fired upon by Vladimir
Putin’s air force.
RAF Tornado pilots have been told to shoot down Russian planes |
Senior defence
sources said British fighters are likely to be involved in a deadly air battle
with Russian aircraft sooner rather than later.
Speaking to the
Daily Star Sunday, a source said: “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.”
The RAF Tornados
will each carry up to four supersonic weapons that cost £200,000 each and are
capable of blasting any aircraft out of the sky.
The missiles can
fly at three times the speed of sound – 2,300 miles an hour – and lock onto
their targets using an infrared heat seeker.
The missiles will
lock onto their targets using infrared heat sensors
Each one is filled
with 22lb of high explosives and can be programmed to blow up upon impact or a
certain distance from its target.
Defence chiefs
believe there is a real possibility a British jet could be attacked or shot
down in a dogfight with a Russian pilot.
No one knows what
the Russians will do next. We don’t know how they will respond if they come
into contact with a Western jet.
Senior defence source
RAF pilots have
reportedly been told to avoid contact with Russian jets but have been warned to
be prepared to fight back if fired upon.
A second source
said: “No one knows what the Russians will do next. We don’t know how they will
respond if they come into contact with a Western jet.
“When planes are
flying at supersonic speeds the airspace gets crowded very quickly. There could
be a collision or a Russian pilot might be mistakenly shot down.”
RAF crews have
dropped more than 250 bombs on Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Iraq .
Defence chief
Michael Fallon has said the government will try to convince Parliament to
extend the bombing campaign into Syria .
He said it was
“illogical” to attack Islamic State fighters in Iraq
but not in Syria .
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