A British RC-135 surveillance aircraft has completed a deployment monitoring Russian forces in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, Belarus north of Ukraine as well as Russian forces in and around Crimea on the Black Sea.
The RC-135W Rivet Joint and its sensors are designed to undertake ‘signals intelligence’ missions, in other words they ‘soak up’ electronic emissions from communications, radars and other systems.
The flight took place yesterday afternoon and returned later in the day. You can watch a time-lapse of the flight in the tweet below.
🚨 NEWS | Britain is keeping an eye on the Russian military. A British RC-135 surveillance aircraft completed a deployment today monitoring Russian forces in Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, Belarus north of Ukraine as well as Russian forces in and around Crimea on the Black Sea. pic.twitter.com/TfEuerOnUA
— George Allison (@geoallison) January 25, 2022
What does the RC-135W do?
According to the Royal Air Force website, the RC-135W Rivet Joint is a dedicated electronic surveillance aircraft that can be employed in all theatres on strategic and tactical missions. Its sensors ‘soak up’ electronic emissions from communications, radar and other systems.
“RC-135W Rivet Joint employs multidiscipline Weapons System Officer (WSO) and Weapons System Operator (WSOp) specialists whose mission is to survey elements of the electromagnetic spectrum in order to derive intelligence for commanders.”
The Royal Air Force say that Rivet Joint has been deployed extensively for Operation Shader and on other operational taskings. It had been formally named Airseeker, but is almost universally known in service as the RC-135W Rivet Joint.
The UK operates three of these aircraft.
Could these not be temporarily based in NATO territory to get on station quicker and for longer
It takes 4hrs to get on station from Waddington. It not only the UK providing mission sweeps and we carefully coordinate with our partners. Hope this helps
Part of the agreement US sold us this aircraft is strict basing rules, due to security of sensitive equipment and data.
Added a d to the end of my name as I’ve noticed a couple of other James’s
They’re going to be very busy very soon… just like every other intelligence asset we have and at the wash-up maybe the pollies will finally realise we needed more Astute, earlier and more T26, 45 and acknowledgement that letting go of Russian language specialists was a mistake…
Let’s just hope some are still breathing.
Bearing in mind that they all see the same Intel, we have a clear split in NATO with Ukraine’s politicians and top military openly backing up the French/German position of there being no evidence of the Russians actually building a strike force, as opposed to moving troops here and there. It seems very possible that our intel assets are going to be having a well earned rest soon. It seems that almost everyone is accusing the US/UK of winding this up over the past 2 months due to their own domestic political needs with the UK seen as a lapdog… Read more »
I really have to disagree as I am talking to people from Latvia based in Brussels and rhe situation is grave.
I’ll leave @airbourne to give the lock, stock, double barrelled response to your post.
A Latvian may indeed regard the situation as grave but Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar joins President Zelensky, NSDC secretary Danilov, and other gov officials in urging Ukrainians to remain calm, saying no signs of imminent Russian invasion. Kyiv’s statements contrast with those of US, NATO. Ukrainian Hanna Malyar, for example, said the number of Russian troops massed on Ukraine’s borders “are not enough for a full-scale invasion.” on Yahoo 16 hours ago.
The reality is the Ukraine need their populations to believe an invasion will not happen. This is a basic need for social order, but I’m betting my bottom dollar that the Ukraine military are not assuming an invasion will not happen. Putin May or may not invade Ukraine, I think it’s unlikely but everyone thought the First World War would never happen, until it did, shattering a new age of developing globalisation and leading to half a century of bloodletting and the Cold War. The trust is its not the US and U.K. driving this particular Geopolitical play, its Putin.… Read more »
It’s not worth engaging with our resident Ruskie.
He’s always all over these article comments trying to sound reasonable and learned, but really is just a shill for Russia.
Your Russian bias Ivan is showing in which you lack total reality , the Ukraine deputy prime minister would have something to say about your delusions.
I suspect that, to the contary, its your anti Russian bias that is clouding your judgement.
Well it seems you get your Info from Russian stat media Ivan so delusional are your views lol , me various sources not restricted by a autocracy state, as I said your lack of reality shows.
I think this sums up Dave12 nicely … in a previous exchange I posted an article written in a US foreign policy journal by an analyst from the US Centre for Naval Analysis and he labelled me a Russian! Classic Dave12!
Well Roy I said to you at the time I misread your link, I’m man enough to admit my errors as for JohninMK thinks Salisbury was the making of the UK government ,and nothing todo with GRU agents , do you agree with him?
I don’t recall much about Salisbury offhand, but what I do recall is that, at the time, it had the hallmarks of a Russian intel operation – similar to the umbrella poisoning they did in London more than 40 years ago – at that time apparently using Bulgarian intelligence as the surrogate. But that doesn’t mean the West should risk war over Ukraine. So I would see them as two separate issues.
My point being there’s looking at both sides of the story but Salisbury evidence just in public eye is over whelming , the GRU agents have been named ID (Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga) and seen on CCTV 5min walk away from the Skirpals house for a few examples , so its very bizarre for any one who lives in the UK with all his marbles to think its was the UK gov behind it. As for the Ukraine I agree NATO should supply the Ukraine’s and do nothing more and I don’t think NATO has to anything, its Putin’s… Read more »
MI6 should be tasked with responding directly to whatever Russian intelligence is doing in the UK. No press releases, no fake outrage. Just act. That will get Russian attention faster than these nonsensical public statements. What I object to in British (and Western) policy is the constant pretending. Identify your interests and develop the capabilities to defend them. But for God’s sake, stop the fake pretending.
If MI6 acted you and I would not no about it for decades.
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Unless the Russians themselves highlight it!
Like the “rocks” business in Moscow.
To be fair since the end of the Cold War SIS / CIA have screwed them over big time, as “the winners”
True I remember that forgot what year it was though.
I agree, Roy.
A few points, Security Service ( MI5 ) would lead in UK centric counter espionage activities. SIS ( MI6 ) is overseas.
Another issue is the usual one, lack of mass. Due to the Islamist terrorist/extremist problem much of the SS resources are devoted to that, or to domestic CT in N Ireland.
Last figure I read in the annual ISC docs was as little as 20% goes on other things like state espionage, Russian and Chinese. Far too little.
The intelligence community would act as best it can. The pretending is the usual political grandstanding.
A serious response would be to get the attention of the adversary that a line has been crossed and that because of that, pain will follow. How would the Israelis have responded? With an “inquiry” followed by endless public “outrage”? By cutting Israeli defence capabilities?
For that matter, how would the Russians respond were the circumstances exactly reversed?
In the West there is this belief that statements and gestures are the same as real action.
As I said Roy something may have been done about it , we public just would not be informed.
Mistaken post, sorry.
I seldom read the Russian media.
Going by your posts I find that hard to believe Ivan.
It is what it is.
You are up to date with Russian military capabilites!
John I have to disagree with your thesis. After three rounds of talks at a very senior level, and not just US/Russia, there is no sign that the rate of build up is slackening, the Russians now have a serious number of troops all within a very few miles of the Ukrainian border, and are continuing to make very detailed demands to force a major withdrawal of NATO support for the newer eastern members. They know that these demands cannot be met so they can hide behind the excuse that “it’s not our fault”. I commend to you an article… Read more »
I agree that the Russians have picked an excellent time to pressure the US and NATO for all the reasons you state plus some more. The best opportunity yet as Russia. We do not know, and may not know what is going on at the top level in terms of an agreement. All we can go on is what we see happening and what politicians say. Again I believe that Russia will only attack Ukraine if Russian citizens in Donbas are put at risk. If that happens it is unlikely that many Russians will need to cross the border, only… Read more »
“Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense…” George Orwell 1984
Freedom is slavery. Slavery is freedom.
Or more appropriately in this case “War is Peace” as we are very much looking at control via a made up War or in this case the threat of one (the NATO threat to Russia).
Real world issues…?
John having an alternate view with alternate sources of news and intel is important, and brings another dynamic to the situation which needs to be considered. However your continued apologist and excuses for the behaviour of Putin and your continued detrimental and negative, and on occasion disrespectful comments on both the UK and the military is starting to grow tiresome. And is in fact quite an easy and obvious red flag, to a most basic int assessment in regard to your actual view and intentions of the situation. Some call you Ivan, some don’t, but the vast majority of posters… Read more »
Interesting. I comment for myself and no-one else and everything I write here is based on my interpretation of the information I am able to glean and my life experience. Like I suspect everyone else here, I have no access to the corridors of power where what is actually happening is known. All I write comes from official announcements wherever possible, followed by reports of actual events and then analysis and comments by others. I act in many ways as an information consolidator scouring for news. I try to write in a balanced way and I do not start with… Read more »
Thank you for your considerate response, many points but I will just pick out one “how others outside see us”, observed you only point out the negatives that you say “others outside see us”, would that be everyone or just the news forums you that you get your info from? As many many people and nations see us much differently and in a more positive, constructive and essential way than your perceived sources.
Be jesus, be jesus, you forgot your shotgun!
Very well written, considered response, by the way. Thank you.
It’s a difficult situation. Ukraine is trying to do everything to keep thing running as normal as panic helps no one. From conversations with tanks crew etc on the Ukrainian side they said they have been training extra hard recently especially evasion tactics etc. (Hit and run basically. Also the ground is still a little soft for a full scale invasion to run smoothly. Ideally frozen solid is best.
Main question has to be why is Russia massing troops on the border? What intention does that appear to send.
Fingers crossed it’s just all for show and practice.
Spot on. The main reason given for the Russian troops and equipment positioning in the south is to show Kiev that if they attack Donbas, they have said they will use force to recover the territory, there are sufficient Russian forces in position to make that a suicide type move. It has been like that since last Spring and so far it looks to have worked as a strategy.
The chickens of Constantinople 1054 are coming home to roost. Just because you are paranoid, Vladimir, doesn’t mean to say they are not out to get you 😉
Where is Ben Wallace, the SoS Defence? One wonders whether he has had another nervous breakdown – as he did on TV during the Afghan withrawal – and is currently indisposed
Surely the UK defence community is entitled to a comment from the Defence Secretary concerning the Ukraine crisis? Especially as the PM has threatened to send a contingent of the Army to reinforce NATO in eastern Europe.
David wrote:
“”Especially as the PM has threatened to send a contingent of the Army to reinforce NATO in eastern Europe.””
The media are being a little remiss here, the troops will be sent to Estonia and not the Ukraine as they have been recklessly surreptitiously hinting at.
As for Ben Wallace, he has just set up a meeting with Sergei Shoiguthe Russian defence minister which is more than what anybody else (bar the Yanks ) have done. 5 days ago he was in Australia meeting up with their Defence minister :
https://i.postimg.cc/TYtv8nfg/FJnr-XODVc-AUs-Dt9.jpg
…..and as troop numbers continue to fall and armour/tanks going out of fashion in the B.A. I suppose any likely deployment would be cardboard cutouts and WW11 blow up tanks.
There is that and the discussions on here have illuminated that going down the road of disarmament has left us in the same position the Uk was during the mid 1930s. However it must be pointed out that this is a trait found all across the Western world and that our Political masters since 2000 have taken no notice of how Russia/China/Iran and Venezuela have been busy rearming and continued down the path of “don’t be stupid , not only do we have a better military , but we spend far too much money on the military anyway” to anybody… Read more »
A read through Simon’s columns from the last couple of years makes one wonder who is actually paying his bills, especially when it comes to articles relating to national security… His back-catalog reads like a St Petersburg troll farm wish list… “A measure of autonomy in eastern Ukraine is the only way out of this crisis” “Britain should stay well out of Russia’s border dispute [!] with Ukraine” (my emphasis) “Boris Johnson’s military alliance in the Pacific is reckless post-imperial nostalgia” “In Britain, we want to blame anyone for chaos in Afghanistan but ourselves” “Sanctions are imposed by the sanctimonious… Read more »
God, I’d never read that poison! Lefty with chip on shoulder about empire.
End.
All very typical Guardian Liberalism Daniele, Neville Chamberlain would thoroughly approve.
It’s crammed full of UK ‘apologists’, ( a peculiarly British disease), flogging their own backs and ashamed of being British….
Had Corbyn won the 2019 election, there would be a picture of him at Heathrow waving a bit of white paper!
Yes mate, spot on. Absolute poison.
I haven’t read the article and know little about the author, but the quotes you selected (apart from the last) seem to be bang on the money. We may be a dynamic economy but we no longer have the money to be throwing our weight around the World.
I don’t think you are qualified Ivan with views of the status of the UK economy or any on the UK considering you cannot determine the difference between a democracy and autocracy , or obvious evidence in Salisbury that the GRU was behind it as you think our gov was behind it lol , the UK is the fifth richest nation ,Russia does not even make the top ten .
Ah Salisbury… that bucket list tourist destination for Russian intelligence officers… or what was it they claimed they were… “sports nutritionalists”… haha! I wonder what “Ruslan” and “Alexander” are getting up to at the moment… not on the Ukraine border I guess, far too slushy this time of year 😂
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We have a bigger economy than Russia’s. Mr Putin seems to have no problem throwing his weight around.
Our economy may be bigger but Russia’s military is bigger.
Exactly. But you claimed we didn’t have the money, not that we didn’t have the military.
We have the money. It’s just that Russia spends a higher proportion of its income on the military. The solution for Global Britain is obvious.
Yes, here in the UK we the public have a bigger say than they do in Russia as to how the money is spent and the view in Parliament is that health and pensions beat defence anyday.
Absolutely wrong, on every level!
Bit to wide a comment to respond too.
British “post-imperial nostagia” they claim. Yet we support mostly free soveriegn nations nowdays while it seems Russia & China are trying to re-assert imperial claims. If Russia & China weren’t so obnoxious to their neighbors, Ukrainians & Taiwanese might be more friendly.
🤣🤣🤣😂👍
I’ll read any paper telegraph to guardian, everything has a grain of truth or a different view to think about, even if it just helps you conclude its dogshit, sometime to know something is shit you have to shall we say “smell it”.
Nice pic – which one of these called our Foreign Secretary Lis Truss “demented” ?
Ex Aus PM Keating. Not in picture.
None of them. It’s Paul Keating, Oz PM until 1996, and a former International Board Member of the China Development Bank – which is run by a Chinese State Official.
And a bit of a whinge-machine about AUKUS.
So you’re Ben Wallace’s GP then? In which case should you be discussing his medical health in public?
Or instead are you someone with no knowledge of what an actual nervous breakdown is, and making wild exaggerated – and basically untrue – comments about him?
I suspect the latter…
Suspect that the sudden input from our illustrious leader is part of the Save Boris’ Skin package, though. Nothing added to what Wallace and CDS have already promulgated.
You know you’re not wrong and the self proclaimed leadership must have other countries rolling all over floor laughing their knackers off, the bluffing, lying buffoon.
Leadership #1 there were no parties
Leadership #2 I attended no parties
Leadership #3 I never knew I was breaking the rules
Leadership #4 I won’t put up taxes
Leadership #5 I won’t cut the Armed Forces.
Leadership #6 I got Brexit done and spend £350m per week on the NHS…
Oh yes, true leader.
I think he is still in Australia, maybe AUKUS deal business?
Slightly off topic (but keeping to the Ukraine) came across this Tweet regards their forces being trained up on MBTLAW:
As an uninformed lurker it appears to me that the current army ( MOD ? ) doctrine is that our tank overwatch is via dismounted anti-tank missiles as a cheaper, better, more flexible option than a dedicated anti-tank vehicle with fitted missiles. Has sending 1,000 of these missiles given us the potential opportunity to test that doctrine. If 1,000 of the current U.K. tank defence missiles don’t destroy at least 200 Russian tanks would that result in a rethink of doctrine. An anti-tank vehicle for the Boxers/Ajax variants or more MBT, or would a great success and lots of destroyed… Read more »
As one who has fired one of these wee beasties (in anger) and had a go with Javelin. I can quite categorically state, that if you are in front of a Russian brigade combat team heading your way and this is all you have, you are going to get your arse kicked. The reason is not just the range of the NLAW, but also the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Russian assaults. NLAW has a range “as quoted” as 600m, it may be able to go further than this, but I can neither confirm or deny it. It will however… Read more »
Yep, I was thinking back to Arab-Israeli Yom Kippur & Lebanese conflicts where the armoured forces sprayed recklessly everything around them with machine gun fire to flush out anyone lurking with AT missiles. Of course any civis or livestock also get clobbered. Called “reconaisance” in early 1980s news reports.
An absolute disgrace & betrayal that our leaders have alowed the teeth of our miltary to be so badly drawn that our enemies have such a superiority & we’ve given up whole capabilities none of our enemies have.
I am afraid the only way this will change is if something disastrous happens. Similar to how we got the MRAPS, when the Snatches proved to be death traps when faced with someone firing a RPG at it or an IED was detonated below it. Only with high casualty numbers will those in power do anything, as it’s bad PR!
One option floating out there is for the West to threaten Kaliningrad if Putin goes further into Ukraine. Gulp!
Either way NATO needs to seriously reinforce all the surrounding countries.
Highly unlikely. For one it’s a veritable fortress stuffed full of missiles that can threaten half of Europe, not to mention the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet.
Any threat to it would potentially see Russia close the Suwalki Gap between it and Belarus, which would leave the Baltic States cut off from the rest of NATO.
So ultimately a self-defeating move.
I’m not so sure. If Poland & Lithuania were fully reinforced so that the Suwalki Gap were as secure as possible, its more like the other way around with Kaliningrad being even more geographically vulnerable than it already is. A bit of funny business behind the scenes in Belarus (like Putin himself does in other countries) and suddenly Russia has a big problem. Ditto on the other side on the Pacific coast whose populations don’t seem too happy with Putin.
Just saying.
The funny business has already been tried in Belarus, the August 2020 colour revolution, and it was crushed. There will not be a second chance as it kick started a closer relationship between Putin and Lukashenko as the latter realised how vulnerable he was. Absent a war there is no reason for Russia to close the Suwalki Gap and maybe not even then given modern munitions and targetting..
@JohninMK That’s Lukashenko’s line – that the demonstrations around the Colour Revolution was some kind of Western Plot.
Do you really believe that?
https://www.rferl.org/a/lukashenka-accuses-west-of-trying-to-destroy-belarus-with-another-color-revolution-/30842510.html
Fair point, given the panic reaction there and the way it was done, there must be a good chance it was organised from outside Belarus.
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You are sooooooo funny! 😂
First three lines, ending “it was crushed”, very telling phrase!
I used it as it was pretty close to what happened and it was an economical use of words.
The gap is pretty flat and difficult to defend, which is why since Crimea NATO has had specific exercises to try and defend it.
Lukashenko is more vulnerable to toppling that Putin, with the majority of the population against him. But if that happened it would be a certainty that Putin would annex Belarus. Given there is a political union of sorts between the two, Putin would sell it as providing internal security against foreign incited terrorism.
Put simply to do that is another sure way to start WW3.
That is against NATOs mission, it is and always has been a defensive alliance, reinforcing the defence of NATO nations is one thing. To actual develop a threat posture to an external nation Due to It’s actions against a non NATO state is not really cognisant with any of NATOs articles. It would also directly re-enforcing the Russian dialogue and belief around NATO threat and aggression, so it’s an own goal there. It would also be a trigger for a general War with Russia if NATO did assault Kaliningrad and it would possibly fracture NATO if NATO was the cause… Read more »
Yes, of course. NATO is defensive and needs to protect existing members and we must avoid WW3. All I am saying is that there are options out there for NATO to get on the front foot and bring pressure to bear on Putin, given how fragile some countries populations are with regards loyalty to Putin. In the case of Kaliningrad, my understanding of history is that it was East Prussia, basically German and Lithuanian, until the end of WWII and Cold War when nobody wanted it and the Russians migrated there – like into many Baltic countries. Any threat to… Read more »
I wouldn’t say no wanted it. The USSR took control and expelled most of the population
Ah, Wallace has just now (1535 hrs) made a statement:-
“at no time during the Afghan evacuation was I instructed to evacuate animals over humans”
Well that clears that up then.
Blame Sky news not Wallace.
OT. George has written a piece on Britain, the Arctic, and need of more ASW and MPA for the Telegraph.
I cannot read it as I don’t subscribe.
Pretty much the thoughts of all here.
Turn off Javascript.
DT has left an obvious, and perhaps deliberate, hole in their paywall.
Ooooo, nice. Im not computer savvy at all, not done that sort of thing before. Found how to do on Google!
If you find yourself doing it regularly, then I would say get a separate web browser with that option set.
These days it tends to be buried quite deeply in the settings, and can be a pain to find.
Though on one of the browsers with “plugins” to add features, there may be one to “turn JS off with a single click”.
I use Opera as my no-JS browser.
Hi Matt
which language is that…… thanx
OldMan.Com
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Javascript.
The most common language that runs in your browser, so you can stop it.
If it were server side – ie being processed before the web page is sent to you – it is far more difficult for your computer (the “client”) to get at.
Also works with NYT & Politico I think. Not with Reuters. Always worth a try.
Thanks Matt. I might know a bit about MoD and our military, but on computer tech I’ve not a clue.
Matt, you don’t do courses do you? I’m with Daniele.
I’m afraid not.
If you keep your eyes open for ‘hacks’ you will notice things from time to time, and follow clues down rabbitholes.
Alternatively, be a nerd and start an internet career in the early 1990s 😎.
Hi Matt
i was fitting boilers for British Gas in the 1990’s missed that bit… haha
US and allies discussing deploying more troops to Eastern Europe prior to any Russian invasion of Ukraine
“Among the countries considering accepting the deployments are Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary. The deployments would number approximately 1,000 personnel to each country and would be similar to the forward battle groups currently stationed in the Baltic States and Poland.
The US and UK are among those considering the new, pre-invasion deployments, but not all 30 NATO members are willing, according to a European diplomat.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/26/politics/us-allies-discuss-deploying-more-troops/index.html
Latest.
The US has given Russia its written responses to a set of security demands by Moscow over Ukraine and NATO amid fears President Putin’s troops could invade the country.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the “ball is in Russia’s court”, as he added: “We’re ready either way.”
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-russia-tensions-us-responds-to-set-of-kremlin-demands-and-says-it-is-now-up-to-moscow-as-were-ready-either-way-12526015
How many more years of service have
rc 135 got left and what’s Gonna
replace them
They are pretty much brand new – the Nimrod R1 served from the early 1970s to 2014, nearly 40 years! These RC-135s have been in service for less than 10 years.
Old airframes, mind.
The 3 youngest of the old USAF KC tankers.
Agreed, but like the USAF’s B-52s the large pool of KC/RC/EC 135s can probably be upgraded ad infinitum, and the airframe is the least critical component anyway.
BTW, are you the same James Fennell MBE I am now following on Twitter?
I am! Quite new to Twitter ‘though!
Respect.
Funny, I have been reading your posts on T and agreeing when I see them on N Drummonds feed, which I also follow. And here you are.
Good. 👍
This is the story that keeps on giving….