Typhoon jets departed RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland in order to conduct Quick Reaction Alert training with Dassault Falcon 20 aircraft.
SkyScanWorld, which I recommend you follow, tweeted:
2 x #RAF Typhoons Airborne From RAF Lossiemouth š“ó §ó ¢ó ³ó £ó “ó æ Using NATO Air Policing Squawk – 1310
Possibly A Practice #QRA Involving –
Draken Europe – Dassault Falcon 20EW – G-FRAH – #FRA86 & Tanker Support From#RAF – Airbus Voyager KC2 – #ZZ330 – #TTN29 pic.twitter.com/RLY7IKXo8G
— SkyScanWorld āļøšš” (@scan_sky) April 12, 2022
The Draken operated Dassault Falcon 20 in this case is a heavily modified business jet designed to simulate targets such as bombers or large aircraft.
In addition to this long-standing agreement, Draken recently won a contract to provide āaggressorā aircraft and pilots for RAF pilots to āfightā against during combat training.
How does Quick Reaction Alert tasking work and why are they training for it?
According to the RAF website, the National Air Defence Operations Centre (NADOC) atĀ RAF Air Command, High WycombeĀ collates information from radar sites across the UK and from civilian air traffic and intelligence agencies.
“They decide the threat is sufficient to scramble Typhoon jets and pass the order to to the Control and Reporting Centres (CRCs) at RAF ScamptonĀ andĀ RAF Boulmer. The CRCs have direct contact with the pilots atĀ RAF LossiemouthĀ and pass on the scramble message. Pilots atĀ RAF Coningsby are ordered to standby in the cockpits of their Typhoons. RAF Coningsby is the second QRA station in the UK.”
Essentially, the jets and their crews are at a moments notice to launch and intercept unresponsive or dangerous aircraft.
I live next to Coningsby and can say it is quite spectacular to watch an ‘unrestricted’ QRA launch. Even having seen them ‘go off’ many times I still marvel at those magnificent men in their flying machines.
Typhoons doing a great work. Out of interest when the 2 from Lossiemouth go out it says 2 at Coningsby get into the cockpit. What happens if they go as well? Is it then 2 at Lossiemouth then Coningsby and so on.
More to the point, what if both bases are hit by anti runway munitions by missile strike? After decades of cuts & closures of air bases & destructiion of runways, reductions in the fighter force our defences are very brittle.
The only country that I think could really attack would be Russia and I donāt think they would sneak attack unless it was full nuclear.
Thereās airfields all over the country. The typhoons have a good short takeoff and they still use the hardened aircraft shelters. The raf had been practicing setting up at other airfields. I imagine if there was a threat they have plans in place.
It then comes to how much would it cost and what would be cut to pay for it.
Some countries did spend lots on dispersal, mountainside caverns etc. not sure how good they were.
RE will repair the runways, and quickly. They have a special team for that.
But there must be other runways in the UK that could also be used in extremis, surely.
How many runways exist in the UK that a Typhoon can operate on both civilian and military, exactly quite a few.
I would say the number of runways across the whole of the U.K. a typhoon could use is in the hundreds.
Still the idea that the U.K. is suddenly coming under attack without prior warning of escalation is almost zero. Folks would of said Russia, not likely. Who else is there?