- The rules of engagement for RAF pilots dealing with rogue
aircraft are chillingly straightforward.
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- Documents seen by Scotland on Sunday reveal that Tornado
pilots have been told to give civilian aircraft suspected of posing a threat
just two chances to turn away or land before blowing them out of the sky
- hijackers, innocent passengers and all.
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- The same pilots have even been given special psychological
training to cope with the enormity of what they may be ordered to do.
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- The instructions set out in a partially censored Ministry
of Defence memo underline how seriously the government now takes the threat
of a terrorist assault on Britain in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
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- The memo states: "If the pilot of the intercepted
aircraft refuses to comply with orders... the pilot of the fighter aircraft...
may then authorise the use of a knife-edge manoeuvre to show the pilot
of the intercepted aircraft that the intercepting fighter is armed.
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- "If this fails to elicit a response, *** may order
a warning burst of gunfire (any warning burst is to be fired from such
a position so as to be immediately recognised by the intercepted pilot
as a warning to reinforce the order to land and not an attack)."
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- During the engagement RAF pilots will report any manoeuvres
by the intercepted rogue plane "construed as aggressive or evasive"
before a decision is taken, ultimately by Tony Blair, to take it out.
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- Within minutes of intelligence picking up an unexpected
deviation in the flight path of an aircraft towards a British terrorist
target, the lives of all those aboard would be lost.
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- The military has drawn up the rules of engagement to
avert potential attacks on over 350 critical national infrastructure sites
identified by MI5, including the Houses of Parliament, the Bank of England
and military bases and nuclear power plants in Scotland as well as England
and Wales.
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- The procedures to be followed by the RAF,s Quick Response
Aircraft team, understood to be based at Cornwall, East Anglia and RAF
Leuchars in Fife, are not simply academic or the stuff of training exercises.
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- Military chiefs insist that the decision to shoot a hijacked
civilian plane out of the sky to prevent a larger loss of human life and
avoid "inevitable and irreparable evil" would not be taken lightly.
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- Aggressive manoeuvres can only take place after pilots
have first attempted to obtain visual confirmation of a plane,s identity,
by operator, aircraft type and registration number and where there is "no
reasonable alternative" to the use of force.
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- While RAF patrols are in the air, communications staff
on the ground will watch the location, height and speed of the suspect
aircraft, including the potential remaining duration of flight and range
of the aircraft.
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- The memo notes that the degree of force must be "proportional".
"In circumstances where a rogue civilian aircraft carries only hijackers
and, if brought down would crash without further loss of human life, the
application of the principles of proportionality will be uncomplicated.
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- "Much more difficult, however, is the use of force
against a rogue civilian aircraft which will directly threaten the lives
of passengers and crew on board that aircraft who are innocent of any crime
and who are being held against their will.
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- "Further, if a downed aircraft is likely to fall
in a location where there is a risk of causing further loss of life on
the ground, the application of the principle becomes significantly more
complicated. "
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- But this will be judged appropriate if it seems likely
that those innocents on board are likely to die "in a very short time"
anyway and if the loss of life from shooting it down is "not disproportionate
to the consequences which are expected from not doing so".
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- Another MoD memo reveals that Britain,s defence capability
to deal with rogue aircraft also extends to RAF and Army Ground Based Air
Defence assets, including high velocity missiles .
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- Royal Navy air defence ships also carry Sea Dart surface
to air missiles and many ships are equipped with Sea Wolf point defence
missiles.
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- The acutely sensitive nature of the issue has persuaded
ministers that only they must be allowed to give the final instruction
to shoot down a civilian aircraft.
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- But Scotland on Sunday has learned that senior MoD figures
are pressing for this to change. They have warned privately how they fear
the requirement to wait for politicians to act could ultimately cost lives.
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- Handing responsibility to the MoD would bring the chain
of command into line with the US where the military has the authority to
shoot down civilian aircraft, consulting politicians all the way to the
President if time permits.
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- In evidence, Desmond Bowen, MoD,s director-general of
operational policy, one of a group of key military chiefs charged with
running the British leg of "Operation Enduring Freedom", acknowledged
that "these are appallingly difficult judgements to make".
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- http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/uk.cfm?id=1279432002
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- Military want right to down passenger jets
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- Brian Brady and Jason Allardyce
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- SENIOR military officers want the right to shoot down
civilian aircraft seized by suicidal terrorists, without consulting the
Prime Minister.
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- Tony Blair is resisting the move, which would give the
military absolute authority to order RAF jets to blow a hijacked aircraft
out of the sky with the loss of hundreds of lives.
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- High-ranking military officials believe Britain should
follow the lead set by the US in the wake of the September 11 attacks last
year. American generals have the power to order the destruction of any
hostile aircraft, if they do not have time to contact senior politicians.
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- Military officers in Britain fear that unless they are
given the same powers, terrorists could bring down a fuel-laden plane,
causing devastation, while they seek ministerial approval.
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- The Prime Minister, backed by Defence Secretary Geoff
Hoon and senior MPs, has insisted the final judgment must remain with politicians.
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- But a senior ministerial source last night admitted the
military might have to take on the responsibility in a critical situation.
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- He said: "There might be occasions when we have
our suspicions an aircraft is foul,, but they can,t raise anybody to make
the decision to shoot it down."
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- The clash between Blair and the military goes to the
heart of Britain,s strategy for fending off an airborne attack of the type
that killed thousands of people in the World Trade Center in New York and
the Pentagon in Washington last year.
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- It emerged amid renewed warnings over the threats terrorists
pose to British aircraft and airports. On Friday a flight from Prestwick
to Dublin had to be evacuated after a hoax bomb alert at the Scottish airport.
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- Scotland on Sunday has learned that the RAF has set up
special squadrons of Quick Response Aircraft (QRA), made up of Tornado
fighters, at strategic sites including RAF Leuchars in Fife, Cornwall and
East Anglia.
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- Pilots have been given special training - including counselling
- to prepare them for the task of shooting down a civilian aircraft laden
with passengers. They have been issued with rules of engagement detailing
how they should identify, pursue and destroy aircraft displaying hostile
intent,.
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- The QRA jets have been scrambled at least three times
since September 11, to intercept aircraft they feared were heading for
the Queen,s residence at Sandringham, the nuclear power plant at Sellafield
or overflying the Midlands. Each was a false alarm.
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- But with Britain still on high alert for a terrorist
attack, the question of who decides on the ultimate action against a rogue
aircraft has yet to be resolved.
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- Last night an MoD insider said: "This is not about
the military trying to keep hold of powers because they don,t want politicians
to take them away.
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- "There are people who think the military command
should at least have the flexibility to make that decision if there was
a time pressure."
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- Senior MoD officers, who have drawn up a list of the
160 most likely targets for terrorist attack, including Downing Street,
the Foreign Office and the BT Tower, have told members of the influential
MPs, Defence Committee that the ultimate decision rests with ministers.
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- Desmond Bowen, the MoD,s director of general operational
policy, said: "This is something we have consulted ministers on."
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- But the committee,s report on Britain,s protection against
terrorism insisted: "Any decision to shoot down a suspected rogue
civilian aircraft must be taken by ministers."
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- The recommendation was broadly backed by ministers, but
a number of MPs have confirmed they were warned that senior figures within
the MoD were unhappy with the policy.
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- One committee member said: "Under no circumstances
can they shoot down an aircraft unless they get the political say-so to
do that.
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- "But the flight time is something like 20 minutes
from take-off at a London airport to the centre of the city - 10 minutes
to get up and 10 minutes, flying time. The reality is that it doesn,t give
much leeway for spotting a rogue plane, deciding it is hostile and then
getting the say-so from politicians to destroy it."
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- Yesterday Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Paul Keetch
called on the government to give the military the powers to shoot down
any aircraft deemed to be posing a threat to targets on the ground.
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- http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/uk.cfm?id=1279642002
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