‘If the Russians turned up the heat, we would struggle badly.’ – Senior RAF officer

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‘If the Russians turned up the heat, we would struggle badly.’ – Senior RAF officer

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‘We couldn’t cope’: UK would lose war against Russia – senior RAF officers

Britain could not withstand a military attack from Russia, according to the former head of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Sir Michael Graydon.

Another senior RAF officer claimed if Putin decided to attack the UK he would “saturate our defenses.”

The warnings follow an incident on Thursday when RAF Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to intercept two Russian long-range bombers in international airspace off the coast of Cornwall.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said the flight was a planned air patrol conducted in accordance with international law.

While Prime Minister David Cameron rebuffed the incident as Russia “trying to make some sort of point,” Graydon believes the threat is more serious.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: “I very much doubt whether the UK could sustain a shooting war against Russia. We are at half the capabilities we had previously.”

“They fly in these regions to check our air defenses and have probably worked out we are not as sharp as we were.

“They know it is provocative and they are doing it at a time when defense in the West is pretty wet compared to where they are,” he added.

http://rt.com/uk/234039-uk-war-russia-unprepared/

RAF scrambles Typhoons to intercept giant ‘Russian Bear’ bombers off Cornwall

British RAF Typhoon fighter jets have been scrambled in response to two Russian Bear long-range bombers spotted off the coast of Cornwall, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

The Russian bombers were in international airspace.

A spokesman from the MoD said: “RAF Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon fighter aircraft were launched yesterday after Russian aircraft were identified flying close to UK airspace.

“The Russian planes were escorted by the RAF until they were out of the UK area of interest. At no time did the Russian military aircraft cross into UK sovereign airspace.”

Thursday’s interception follows a similar event in January when two Russian Bear bombers flying close to UK airspace were intercepted by RAF Typhoons.

The British fighter jets were scrambled from bases at Lossiemouth in Scotland and Coningsby in eastern England, according to the MoD.

http://rt.com/uk/233719-raf-typhoons-russian-bombers/

Foreign Office claims Russian bombers pose threat to civilian flights, no details given

The UK Foreign Office summoned the Russian ambassador on Thursday afternoon to lodge a complaint about the flight of Russian military jets over the English Channel, which authorities claim posed a danger to passenger aircraft.

On Wednesday the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed a number of Royal Air Force Typhoon jets were scrambled in an attempt to intercept the Tupolev 95 ‘Bear’ Aircraft which were flying along the south coast.

An MoD spokesperson said “the Russian planes were escorted by the RAF until they were out of the UK area of interest. At no time did the Russian military aircraft cross into UK sovereign airspace.”

The FCO, however, said that while they were never in the UK’s airspace, their patrol posed a threat to civil aviation.

“While the Russian planes did not enter sovereign UK airspace and were escorted by RAF Typhoons throughout the time they were in the UK area of interest, the Russian planes caused disruption to civil aviation. That is why we summoned the Russian ambassador to account for the incident,” a spokeswoman said.

Authorities did not specify, however, what the threats to civil aviation were.

http://rt.com/uk/227831-russian-ambassador-jets-uk/
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‘If the Russians turned up the heat, we would struggle badly.’ – Senior RAF officer