American Reacts Fly With RAF's Quick Reaction Alert Crews

[@MLWitteman]

The neighbors of the UK, all of them allies, control the aerospace around Britain. So the pilots of the Royal Norwegian, Royal Netherlands, Royal Belgium & French air forces might intercept these airplanes. So the UK is probably one of the safest places in Europe. As a Dutchman I can say, that our Royal Air force intercepts quite a lot of Russian air planes. After they leave our airspace, our neighbors take over the interception. Because the air controllers always stay in touch about these things, with their colleagues in other countries.

[@polarisukyc1204]

I’m honestly never thought about that, it’s very interesting

[@philipareed]

*neighbours

[@MLWitteman]

@@philipareed yeah I know. American autocorrect. My high school English teacher would be disappointed too.

[@rexex345]

Its a net of collective "fuck off". The time it would take for you to escape, bypass or fight off one set of interceptors, an exponential amount are now swarming you.

[@tejmason4310]

Too bad we couldn’t say the same thing during the Battle of Britain ey, butt folded early didn’t they 😂

[@JJ-of1ir]

It may not be the Cold War in the USA, but here it hasn't stopped

[@adriandaw3451]

Russian bombers test the UK airspace very regularly. Tsar Putin has redeclared the cold war.

[@brownwarrior6867]

The Cold War on both sides was funded by the same Major Banks. “The few who could understand the system (cheque, money, credits) will either be so interested in its profits, or so dependent on its favours, that there will be no opposition from that class, while on the other hand, the great body of people, mentally incapable of comprehending the tremendous advantage that capital derives from the system, will bear its burdens without complaint, and perhaps without even suspecting the system is inimical to their interests.” _Nathaniel Meyer Rothschild, speaking to a group of international bankers_ “If you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it” _JP Morgan_ “The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets”. _John D Rockefeller_

[@MoofyYT]

Yep, it's fairly routine that russian aircraft will skirt the line or temporarily invade british airspace to test QRA.

[@real4183]

The USA supplies the most money and weapons to the war in europe, clearly they are part of this new cold war. Which isn't really new 😂

[@real4183]

This kid has no idea 😅

[@knowledge-seeker-x7u]

If I retire with 'no kills' as you say, in my opinion my training and all those flights have done their job.

[@memkiii]

"This isn't the cold war anymore." Ermm... Have you been asleep for the last two years?

[@FrowningIke]

0:54 The Russians frequently skirt our airspace, almost for fun it seems. They also send assassins to admire our Cathedral spires for some reason.

[@user-wc8fp4cx6c]

The reason is probably because the US and UK do the same thing near Russia's airspace.

[@damonburroughs5283]

​@@user-wc8fp4cx6cNot really, not until recently, and usually UK aircraft are Recon aircraft, Russia flies bombers up the British channel and always have. I would presume the citizens of Russia are unaware of the posturing that has always gone on

[@obi-ron]

The "assassins" are probably looking to see if the spires are giving off vapour while they're being fuelled for launch. Isn't paranoia a wonderful thing?😅😅.

[@user-wc8fp4cx6c]

@@damonburroughs5283 *Yes, really.* The US and it's allies have buzzed near Russian airspace for decades.

[@dutchbachelor]

​@@damonburroughs5283 Ehm, look up "Operation Chrome Dome". So, yeah, the west used to do that too. Probably where the Russkies got the idea from. Later it we deemed it to costly and risky, with the Palomares and Thule incidents being the final nails in the coffin of that Strategy. And the subs and ICBMs were becoming better, which also played a role. So no, @user-wc8fp4cx6c we don't do the same. They send heavy bombers like Tu-95, Tu-16 (actually don't know if they are still being used), Tu-22M and Tu-160 that - for all we know - could be armed with nuclear weapons, we send intelligence gathering aircraft like AWACS and other specialist aircraft and fighters to deter them. It's a game that has been played for more than half a century now.

[@iansaunders7090]

We get Russian bombers flying over the North Sea close to our airspace all the time , the Euro fighters from Coningsby fly over where I live on the East Coast every single day . If it is a real call out they sometimes go supersonic as they are going over the coast and we get a sonic boom!

[@stephensmith4480]

A girlfriend of mine from many years ago was a ATC at Coningsby when they had Vulcans based there. When they were Re-tasked to Fighter command and they got the Tornado's she said it was like being in a different Air force, the tempo went completely mad and the slow lazy days were a distant memory.

[@iansaunders7090]

@@stephensmith4480, Coningsby also had Lightnings at one stage , now that was an aircraft that made the hair on your body stand up when they were scrambled , in some ways they would still leave the modern fighters for dead !!!!

[@stephensmith4480]

@@iansaunders7090 A friend of mine used to make the Nose cones for The Lightening. A small handful were still flying in South Africa until 2009.

[@iansaunders7090]

@@stephensmith4480, I believe they only had two in South Africa and without BEA backing no one will be able to fly them again as is the case with the Vulcans . Once a military aircraft is decommissioned and sold to the private sector they come under the responsibility of the CAA who say that the aircraft has to come up to the same standards as a civil aircraft and that is very difficult and very costly.

[@stephensmith4480]

@@iansaunders7090 Yes I agree about the logistical difficulties in maintaining an Aircraft to the required standard as laid down by the governing body, as you say, very costly. The Lightening's were Based at Thunder city and there were Three of them.

[@LittleBallOfPurr]

With regards to being 99% 'boring', there's a phrase I've often heard military men use, "Hurry up and wait."

[@dutchbachelor]

Nothing more true in military service. It's absolutely mind-numbingly boring most of the time, but in an instant you have to be alert and ready to do right thing. No matter if it is 3 am in the morning. No matter if you just hiked up a mountain carrying 25 kg on your back. No matter if you only had 3-4 hours of sleep in the last 36 hours. It's also why military men quickly learn to sleep anywhere in pretty much any position and regardless of the circumstances. Even though I only did my draft time, I can still sleep with a full-on battle running on my TV (movie, documentary etc.) in the background.

[@jboustead13]

Fun fact. The pilot ‘Jon’ who’s featured in this video is currently Red 1 in the Red Arrows. His name is Jon Bond.

[@burtlangoustine1]

Callsign: Jovi, surely??

[@Joe_Pomona]

Im sure he will appreciate yoi for doxing him haha 😉

[@Tortex88]

Now he's not on 'active operations', not a problem ​@@Joe_Pomona

[@TexasRancher22]

Why are you lying ? Jon is now a sidemen member and goes by the name of miniminter

[@raheemabdul1066]

@@TexasRancher22 your mom is a sidemen

[@WhadifuzAlottanois]

Russia makes moves every day against NATO. Just enough to be annoying and keep things as tense as possible... Like the incident in Alaska the other day where China came along to play...

[@mikeymike1854]

America does the same old news as this happens all the time for decades

[@dutchbachelor]

@@mikeymike1854 No. America does NOT do the same. The days of Chrome Dome are over. So there are no B-52s, B-1Bs or B-2s constantly probing and provoking their defenses.

[@MachikoNoguchi-616]

Yeah which was only to be annoying as they wouldn't use planes if they where to nuke anyone as they have nuke's that can be launched from pretty much anywhere and can't be shot down

[@pogo930]

They said they don't want to give their surnames for security reasons, but then the film shows the aircraft taking off with the name Squadron Leader Robertson on the side

[@Enhancedlies]

dont think too much

[@Markus117d]

The name on the side doesn't necessarily match the pilot, imagine you have a pilot who's just coming off shift, And the relief pilots plane has a technical fault, Would the pilot about to come off shift have to pull a double because the plane with thier name on it is good to go 😂

[@memkiii]

The names are just randomly assigned from the Roll, and are not really a "thing". The RAF does not have aircraft dedicated to one person, nor does it have groundcrew dedicated to one aircraft, often the Boss will have his name on an aircraft that may or not be his favourite, but that's it.

[@Avfc-m4w]

We have alot of Russian visitors in our airspace.

[@CharlesDickson-nv2ol]

Just outside our airspace

[@user-xq8vv7pq6j]

No we don't.

[@CeleWolf]

​@CharlesDickthey come in occasionally son-nv2ol

[@kentthompson3836]

As you have seen from the video, the jets will intercept a suspect aircraft before it enters Uk air space. They would normally intercept the Russian aircraft over the North Sea, apart from warnings, they cannot do anything until they enter UK airspace. London is too close to the edge of our airspace to leave it until an aircraft enters it.

[@stevecummings2703]

I was lucky enough to spend a few years flying the aircraft used in the filming as the “target” for the QRA intercept. Our “day job” was Electronic Warfare and threat simulation for the RAF and the Royal Navy. We would do several of these unidentified target missions every year, the response was always immediate and a fully armed Typhoon sitting alongside certainly gets your attention. To answer a couple of your questions: The time between detection and London could be very short, however we would expect the French / Dutch or other NATO partners to already have a handle on the situation and effect a handover to RAF interceptors. European air defence is very well integrated. As for communications, we would expect any aircraft to be monitoring the “Guard” radio frequencies in order to be able to respond. Failing that crews should be trained in the hand signals and wing-rocking manoeuvres of the interceptors and, as was the case with the Latvian aircraft, simply follow your interceptor to where he wants you to go, knowing that his fully armed mate is sitting in you six o’clock waiting to do his ultimate job if required.

[@paulkemp4559]

Top fact, no matter where you are in the UK you’re never more than 79 miles from the coast. UK boarder only extends 12 miles of the coast but the UK Airspace area of interest extends an awful lot further out, that’s why we look out a very long way for military threats

[@Joe_Pomona]

Uk border is at the point of entry, i think you are confusing this with the 12mile maritime line that extends around ALL countries

[@CeleWolf]

That's a myth

[@norfolkronin6307]

I'm afraid to say there scope will be global.

[@goldenlabradorskye]

We get russian jets quite often trying to entire our airspace

[@gibson617ajg]

Trying? They could enter British airspace whenever they want. Whether they do or not is down to them, not Britain. Russian fighters are far better than anything the RAF has.

[@dockingtroll6801]

@@gibson617ajg How would they get to british airspace?? Apart from that... 2 words... EuroFighter Typhoon

[@mikehull5042]

​@@gibson617ajgwhat rock have you been hiding under.....think you need to be loved 😂😂. Your comment laughable

[@dannyking4138]

@@gibson617ajg idiot

[@colinharbinson8284]

@@gibson617ajg High quality sellotape and cardboard, flown by what's left of the professional russian army😜😜

[@Radio478]

I'm UK, great support for our 24/7 readiness

[@dang1086]

Russian and Chinese strategic bombers were attempting to cross into alaskan airspace in joint mission literally this week. They were intercepted by alaskan air national guard. You right about we aren’t in the cold war of old. But we are in the cold war 2.0 and a lot closer to it becoming hot by the day. I appreciate that your learning about history but dont lose sight of whats going on right now.

[@stevo728822]

My father served in the RAF. He was ground crew maintaining the radio and radar on fighter planes including the Hunter, Lightning and Phantom. He also worked on the Bloodhound missile and V bombers.

[@20chocsaday]

That's good.

[@baylessnow]

Connor, if you were on board a highjacked jumbo jet with a full load of civilian passengers, these guys are prepared, under orders, to shoot it down! So yes, they would intercept an unidentified civilan plane.

[@jasonc5413]

The Cold War didn't really end, it just got colder.

[@polarisukyc1204]

@@paultaylor9498well, he’s got a point, even if he’s technically not correct. How many times do you think the Russians try sabre rattling like what they do with their subs and aircraft?

[@polarisukyc1204]

@@paultaylor9498 I’m not denying that it’s cooled down considerably, Russia certainly isn’t as intimidatory as the Soviet Union was, but they still do try annoy us

[@stewartmackay]

@@paultaylor9498 I do and yes, he's right.

[@burtlangoustine1]

Hang on, so according to you guys, Peace is simply a extremely cold cold-war? All attached to a national military with long memory and old scores to settle? I guess this likely linked to the toppling of Russian royalty? Whatever happens, thanks is due to Russians for beating Hitler at a cost of 27,000,000 million military and civilian deaths. They cleaned up Chernobyl. They achieved what no other could for the sake of humanity, albeit in poor style. Communism is rubbish, Marx was a occultist and millions of deaths later here we are. "Russia has knuckle-dusters and lots nukes. We're trying to keep them on the knuckle-dusters" Excellent game 🙄

[@skyrat3816]

You're not far off. It may have gotten colder when the soviet union collapsed. But it has gotten warmer each time Putin's russian air force tests the airspace around Britain and her neighbours'. No doubt there's a lot more we don't hear about and maybe these came very close to an aircraft being shot down. Which would really heat things up.

[@MrRupit123]

You seem like a quite intelligent young person. I'm enjoying your content. I've now subscribed. Your last 45secs of this video convinces me that you are a worthy person. Finally there is hope for your generation.😊

[@TheAnglan]

Yes, the reason they get so close is so that the pilots can see and signal to each other if there are genuine comms problems. They can communicate that they can hear but not speak, or vice versa or have total loss of comms.

[@leestockton9367]

Do they communicate like Goose did in Top Gun (🖕)

[@B-A-L]

​@@leestockton9367No because that's not real and Britain knows what the meaning of the word respect is.

[@elfri1738]

29:39 Let’s say you’re flying a Boeing 747-8 at maximum speed, around 614 mph. It might take about 4.5 minutes to cross the UK’s airspace, but that doesn’t make the UK vulnerable-in fact, the opposite is true. The UK's air defense is among the most robust in the world. As the first country to develop radar technology, its systems are highly advanced and integrated with NATO allies. The UK's radar and surveillance network is so sophisticated that it detects aircraft long before they reach British airspace. There’s no need for external communication; the system is interconnected with the UK’s own defense infrastructure. Additionally, the UK's position among its neighboring countries creates a multilayered defense network, akin to the layers of an onion. This defense network includes satellites, ground-based radar, and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft, which can track targets from hundreds of miles away. As soon as your aircraft is detected heading toward the UK, multiple defense layers are activated, and alerts are issued. If you were approaching from Germany or France with no communications, our systems would already flag your aircraft. By the time you enter UK airspace, Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon jets would be launched within minutes. These jets, equipped with advanced AESA radar and IRST systems, would intercept you long before the 4.5-minute window you might think you have. The rapid response and layered defenses make breaching UK airspace extremely difficult. This seamless integration of early detection and rapid response ensures any potential threat is neutralized long before it reaches critical areas. This is why, if Russia were to consider an attack, submarines would be the more plausible option, given the challenge of avoiding detection underwater. As you approach London, rest assured that the skies are protected by an unyielding and vigilant defense network, ready to respond the moment a threat is detected.

[@Michael-yq2ut]

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. Almost all of the military are trained to just react, thats why they are drilled so much, if you stop to think about it, you couldn't do it.

[@alexfletcher5192]

For the benefit of Americans, where you might think is 100's, start thinking in tens of miles. That can be the margin. For instance, in a largely straight line (roads permitting) the nearest coastal location from my house in the UK is two hours and twenty-six minutes away. Yes, it's that small.

[@B-A-L]

You are never more than 78 miles from the coast in Britain.

[@mainfish88]

I love how ur saying (without sayin) u live ages away from the coast to us in the uk but really nearby for u Americans

[@jimcook1161]

32:15 Hi Connor! You're absolutely right there. Rocking the wings from side to side is way of saying I am unable to communicate. After acknowledging this the plane must follow the intercepting aircraft.

[@ClassicRiki]

32:43 As far as whether they could make it to London before the Typhoons, it’s worth bearing in mind that while the Typhoon can get to London in 10 minutes…they have a rough top speed of somewhere in the 1,500mph area. Supersonic is much lower than that at the altitude they’re likely gonna be at, and a passenger jet is considerably slower of course

[@ClassicRiki]

Yes…this is a brilliant video. Saw this straight away 🎉

[@Enhancedlies]

so the thing is we have Russian fighters, bombers and everything else not just trying, but coming to and into our airspace weekly sometimes at the heights. Its mad, but they are basically calling our bluff and if we don't respond... then it really could mean something serious following it - very tense

[@dutchbachelor]

Not really. Yes, it's to be taken serious each and every time, but it's a chess game that has been played since the time of our grandfathers. In the air but also at sea, especially with submarines. And mind you, those aircraft are being tracked pretty much from the moment they take off. Before they get to the UK, they have to cross a lot of European airspace and they have probably been shadowed by friendly Air Forces all the way.

[@Enhancedlies]

@@dutchbachelor yes but that doesn’t change the fact they are entering our airspace with weapons attached. It doesn’t mean they are coming to bomb us, of course. As you said it’s a chess game at the highest levels. But doesn’t change the fact they are being aggressive and pushing us.

[@valeriedavidson2785]

The Prime Minister has the last say in conflict. The King does not make final decisions.

[@davesimpson5702]

Well He can but he chooses not to - its formally delegated to the PM (The Kings government)

[@matthewjamison]

The King still can. He can desolve the government tomorrow if he chooses. The people just wouldn't go for it.

[@davesimpson5702]

@@matthewjamison Some might not but many might - depending on the circumstances....Life is never black and white like that.

[@matthewjamison]

@@davesimpson5702 indeed

[@valeriedavidson2785]

@@matthewjamison It would never happen. The King has no real power. The decision whether to go to war on not is taken by the Prime Minister.

[@laurenC91.]

The word you are looking for is twinjet engines. They have two so that they can still land safely if one was to fail, they can also pick up and fly faster. My dad fixed panavia tornadoes before typhoons too over, he had been promoted beyond the hangers by then. Left after 27yrs of service, some squadrons he was at included Lossemouth and conningsby ❤

[@martinscholes2023]

The Typhoon has 2 engines and was designed that way to give massive thrust to weight capability

[@mrcaboosevg6089]

Also protects it against the unlikely event of engine failure, flying with one engine wouldn't be ideal but it'd save the air frame

[@alanelesstravelled8218]

The one circling round was probably from the skydiving club at Hibaldstow climbing to altitude.

[@TonySpike]

Its more likely to be Doncaster Airport

[@moonramshaw1982]

Or the screen was buffering 😂

[@alanelesstravelled8218]

@@TonySpike Possibly, but aircraft flying in to Doncaster were never put in to a holding pattern, it was never that busy. Their normal approach to Doncaster was to fly straight over my house at 4000' and then turn left at Thorne. The long rectangular dark area to the north of the circling aircraft looks like Broughton and Twigmoor woods, so an aircraft from Hibaldstow climbing to altitude for a parachute drop seems more likely.

[@alexfletcher5192]

Britain used to have a pretty astounding aerospace industry, with multiple manufacturers. The Dehaviland Comet - for example - was the world's first jet airliner. Yes, it crashed a lot, but it still counts...

[@Ozymandi_as]

America used to have some great aircraft manufacturers as well ...

[@geoffbentley8774]

Until they found the problem.

[@danielferguson3784]

Yes. Here in Britain the Prime Minister is the one who makes Presidential type decisions. Technically the King is Commander in Chief of all forces, civil & military in the UK, but the Government acts in his name. The PM is the King's chief Minister, so he has the responsibility, but possibly he will inform the King before taking final decisions, as he will also take expert advice. In an acute emergency it may not be possible to seek the permission of PM or King , & pilots or their commanders might have to act on their own initiative. The Typhoons can be over London in 10 minutes, so it's unlikely anything can reach London before them. The RAF or Government won't have to check for the plane with other Governments, because they will have been tracking it along with all other aircraft. They won't seek permission from foreign Governments to act, but defend the country as they need to. It's unlikely that a plane does not hear radio instructions, so they will respond if they are innocent.

[@reluctantheist5224]

Except in this case...

[@stephenhumphrey7935]

Permission of the King?? 😅😅 The King might well be informed about the situation, but he doesn't have anything to do with the decision-making.

[@reluctantheist5224]

@@stephenhumphrey7935 He has in effect already given his permission to the PM to do what is necessary in his name.

[@overthewebb]

The King is Commander in Chief in a purely symbolic role. In no way is the King getting informed before any decision. He would be informed afterwards, as the King has Zero power. The Prime Minister's decision is final

[@adegbolaarimoro1196]

The kings role (monarch) is largely ceremonial and doesn’t have direct powers in government.

[@JohnDuffy-bq8wg]

Had two typoons heading too a Russian intercept go supersonic over my house, even that was exhilarating, the whole house shook

[@vikkihumble2227]

questions are always good mush, question everything

[@rickhirons2409]

Did QRA at Coningsby on 29 Sqn Phantoms in the early ‘80’s. Regularly had to scramble to intercept Bears on the way to Cuba flying a tad too close to our airspace.

[@Ade2bee]

Out of the initial batch and to get things up and running the two seater typhoons are training aircraft but can be used as full combat aircraft. The single seaters are normal typhoons

[@spacechannelfiver]

Typhoons are at their best in the Intercept / Inderdiction role. They were built to get off the floor fast, they also have very good ears on them.

[@knowledge-seeker-x7u]

Nearer than you think. For example, the English Channel - the sea between France and UK - is only 23 Miles wide. A matter of minutes. Speed of thought, response, and travel needed beggers belief.

[@nicksykes4575]

Hi Connor, planes with one jet pipe have one engine, planes with two jet pipes have two engines.

[@_Professor_Oak]

😂😂

[@papasierra115]

I think the word you are looking for is exhaust ;) Plus just to confuse the matter. There are very rare occurances where an aircraft has one engine and 2 exhausts or the other way round. But the rule of thumb number oif exhausts equals the number of engines.

[@perk70]

​@@papasierra115Wrong....The word you are looking for is afterburners!

[@dutchbachelor]

@@perk70 Wrong. Not every jet engine has an afterburner.

[@perk70]

@@dutchbachelor Afterburners are standard equipment on fighter planes and are used to help military aircraft reach supersonic speeds. Was we talking about R.A.F. fighter planes?

[@Herr_Bishmeister]

Great to see a young cousin from across the pond responding to this. I got to see my old work place, for one, that being the bunker at High Wycombe, I had responsible for the security of that facility for a number of years. One year of which was during the event of 9/11 - that day was the 1% of focus and effect of years of preparedness. Made the hairs on the back of my neck stand !!!

[@nicholaswatson3896]

We get a lot of Russian military planes flying very close to UK airspace. Quick response jets are scrambled to intercept any unidentified aircraft that enter or are close to entering UK airspace. Sometimes it might just be a commercial aircraft with a broken transponder/radio, but mostly it's the Russians testing our response times.

[@theart8039]

I have to say that I like your channel, you're far more interested in our culture than that other "American reacts" dude who I won't name but I guess you know who I mean..you actually seem interested

[@razor1uk610]

@theart8093 ..those others ...mmm... Tyler Rumple &/or Tyler Wurze..? ..the latter of which seems the least willing or able to learn.

[@theart8039]

@@razor1uk610 No not either of them ..I really don't want to name the dude in case it looks like I have a grudge and I really don't..I just think he's "up himself" a bit. He just hit 100k subs so all credit to him but he only really responds to Patrons and we're the same age just about and both at Uni..anyway I was just a bit peed off. His Patrons send him stuff, I did once it was silly of me..a nodding head Queen Elizabeth..dumb I know

[@pierce9128]

Here in Ireland the RAF also provide this service to us because we don't have the capability to keep our air space secure. It's a sad sad point

[@randomwaffler]

If you have a radio or communications failure, pilots must squawk 7600 on their transponder to indicate that they have a radio failure. If so, the aircraft will try to be reached with Guard frequency (121.5), ACARS, satphone and even a light gun. The squawk code for hijacking/interference is 7500 and for a general emergency (MAYDAY, PAN PAN) it is 7700.

[@edh8827]

I think the whole point of the QRA is that planes are in the air several minutes after the alert & can intercept very fast. I do know that planes have had to go supersonic but the bang triggers many calls so I hear they try to avoid this. The coast to London is short though.

[@petersmith7126]

Their job is to itercept Russian aircraft approaching UK airspace thats the primary role ..... Interception of a possible terrorist attack is a secondary factor

[@stevenhartley1350]

Russian Aircraft actually fly close fact gathering missions very often. In one year within to 2020’s stood at 18 flights in one year (within our actual sovereign airspace not our area of interest). Vladimir probably wanted to see if we were ready to shoot or he was gathering intelligence on our react as well as technical information too. We used to call it sabre rattling.

[@TheRealMiniIsHere]

People mock the UK for having a small army, navy fleet and air force but we kept control in the wars extending our lifelines thin as we could tactically which kept us safe enough. I am confident we can do the same even with the smaller numbers with help of our allies. R.A.F QRA will take an order to strike down a threat, even if the threat is registered to be an civilian aircraft to keep the population safe as their last resort of action. I live near a popular flightpath that the R.A.F uses so when the afghan war started I remember seeing formations flying over, a magical sight but it brought the situation to a real understanding. Respect to everyone who serves to protect the rest of us so we can live without fear, those men and women surrender their freedom and rights so we can keep ours. Without these people threats will be higher and heavier without a doubt.

[@streaky81]

"this isn't the cold war any more" - oh, sweet innocent McJibbin. The question really this time is Russia's capability to target-deliver a warhead, but we're definitely in one. This was made back in the days when we were "friendly" with Russia, relatively. Some aircraft have two exhausts because they have two engines. Also the prime minister is the commander-in-chief in the UK, they're one and the same - it's a royal prerogative power that is given to the PM.

[@Markus117d]

Exactly, There was a brief time after the fall of the Soviet union where the cold war ended and there were friendly relations, Such as western and Russian naval vessels making port visits to eachothers lands ect.. But that gradually dwindled. And a new cold war started, One that has gradually been heating up for the last couple of decades or so..

[@jhdix6731]

20:00 The main reason for a two-engine fighter design is safety. If one engine is incapacitated, the other engine's thrust would still be enough to allow for a safe landing.

[@TheOrlandoTrustfull]

Flying erratically to prove you're not a hostile threat 😂

[@KGardner01010]

It has also been the same with the Russian Navy for decades as well, Connor . . . The North Sea (English Channel) is also one of the most heavily congested waters in the world, too. From container ships, to ferries, even hovercrafts previously, yachts, sailboats, fishing vessels, and so on . . . and the Russians would just sail up or down the channel North to South, or vice-versa without worrying about all of the other ships that were there either. And in that case, they also get shadowed by various NATO navies as and when they pass by the various countries own region of influence, too . . . They even began to go to the West Coast side of the UK as well, which led to ships needing to be stationed near enough to shadow them if they did that . . .

[@geoffbentley8774]

The Russians usually send a submarine to get close to Faslane.

[@KGardner01010]

@@geoffbentley8774 - Quite possibly, Geoff . . . not sure if it was a news thing now (Forces News?) or something like that, or not - But I do remember seeing a ship, possibly a RN frigate watching over a Russian warship somewhere off the West Coast . . .

[@jamielye2246]

The UK looks after its own airspace. That what this video is about ! Plus the UK has the biggest airforce in Europe and problely do most of the intersepting for are nabours like the french, just like the UK had to save there ass from Germany in ww2 with are partners the USA. 😉, say thank you to them if your French

[@yorkshirefazer]

"Never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few."

[@davedixon2068]

Yes they are looking for ANY plane intruding into UK airspace, military or civilian, it is exactly the same as during the cold war.

[@royhayward5828]

yes your wrong .... mostly they react to russians entering uk air space

[@LoricSwift]

It was an interesting insight in the cultural insulation of at least this one American. I guess from his perspective he hadn't heard anything about hostile Russian Air Intercepts, and so assumed it wasn't happening, and assumed it must be terrorism related instead. Which it could be, its just the vast majority (99%+) is intercepting military aircraft.

[@Pjs-ge7gk]

Europe is a fortress, We spent millennia fighting one another now we're friends and will help defend this alliance we worked so god damned hard to create! God help any idiot who tries to undo that work. History has shown plenty, each of us have our strengths and each nation is as vital to the alliance as the next.

[@andywitham1997]

In response to your question about if the pilots aren’t ignoring just unable to communicate, in training us pilots are told what to do if intercepted and unable to communicate via radio, we can squawk a code to say we have been intercepted, and look for cues given by the fighter jets to follow or turn etc

[@Twirlyhead]

At 20:43 - the bit when the Typhoon starts lighting its own farts is cool.

[@carrera2.7rs]

7:50 from my understanding that aircraft circling is probably doing equipment (flight instruments, radar) calibration not in holding pattern. There is no major airports near it's location where delays might occur due to traffic and aircraft typically fly in ovals rather than circles while waiting.

[@Badgersj]

Churchill: "Never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few"

[@Tyler-jayCorrick]

Royal Air force

[@SuperEoin09]

Nope, it’s all about the Russians flying into UK airspace. When the aircraft are SCRAMBLED they have to be airborne in under 2 minutes. An amazing thing to see when there are SCRAMBLED. A slight roll, hit the after burners, then vertical!!!! And airborne!!! Awesome.

[@johnparker1696]

Another thing for your questions are that there are several things a plane can do to communicate with a Typhoon things like waggle the wings or even wave from the cabin windows or flash your nav lights and yes if a plane is covered in markings for Spanish or French airforces or even civil markings if it fails to respond to communications its a UFO

[@memkiii]

The "terrorist" prevention, identification & escort of unknown/incommunicative aircraft is a secondary job. Their main role is to defend the airspace of the UK. The Threat has mostly come from The Soviet Union, and Now the Russian Federation. They are constantly being tested by Russian bomber flights.

[@TonySpike]

7:45 ...naah mate, its just a Yorkshire Airlines flight out of Doncaster 😂 We never like leaving Yorkshire so we just fly in circles (if you dont get the joke, just look up Hale and Pace)

[@moonramshaw1982]

Ha Ha. Get them pints pulled in the cockpit 😂

[@SteveBagnall-gh1fu]

The Spitfire, took on the M Me109 fighters, as they had a speed advantage of 20mph. The Hurracain then shot down the bombers. A Me109, had approximately 3 minutes of flight time if over London as all airfields were usually 30 miles from that coast, behind Calais.

[@rbohYSL]

I love that you look like your dressed to work in the control room with that colour top and hat :D Another great video mate, thank you.

[@Joe_Pomona]

The 1% you're looking for.... Its terrifying! 99% boring, 1% absolutely f'ing terrifying.

[@gethinpearce]

I’ve been inside the Battle of Britain bunker :) (it’s very tight and very cold!) I actually sat in the seat Churchill sat in too!

[@stuartfitch7093]

Yes Connor they can make it in time and easily intercept because they have permission to go supersonic. I'm Lincolnshire born, bred and lived here all my life, I live not far from both Scampton and Coningsby and I've heard the sonic boom when they break the speed of sound. Like the video says, they can be over London in ten minutes because the Typhoon fighter jet is so much faster than a regular jet powered civilian passenger aircraft such as 747.

[@Samuell8]

'thrusters?...jets?..two of these things?'... subbed

[@lyncorsham]

I’ve had them over my house , so happy to see them. Live close to Southend airport, There help them to land to a closed airport. When out of English air space then European planes take over into there air space .

[@phoenix-xu9xj]

I live near that airbase and it’s interesting to hear different levels of pan activity. Always worrying when you know there’s been a scramble .

[@Chris_GY1]

This is filmed at RAF Conigsby near Lincoln in Lincolnshire you can visit the Second World War display team The Battle of Britain Display Team which is signed posted. Recently one member of the team crashed and died not far from the airfield he was also a serving in The RAF Royal Air Force. The first crew member who talks was in The Red Arrows Display Team for the full time. Majority of bases are in Lincolnshire though one was shut for another use.

[@Ade2bee]

It depends on the design of the aircraft, the f-16 has one, there 15 and the typhoon have two is often thought better than one particularly with larger or middle range combat aircraft due to thrust without reheat, as well as failsafe

[@aldibag1]

32:02 Usually its universal signal to either put the landing gear down to show surrender or something along of those lings

[@razor1uk610]

@McJibbin. ..Connor, those are Jet Exhaust(s) or Exhaust Nozzle(s) or Afterburner(s) The number of which usually indicates the number of jet engines.

[@RWBHere]

32:27 It's highly unlikely that all methods of communication will fail in an aircraft, unless it's about to fall out of the sky. In the rare case that it happens, very clear visual warnings and visual instructions are given to the unidentified aircraft. Only if the aircrew are incapacitated or being hijacked will they fail to respond, if they are a 'friendly' aircraft.

[@piercem579]

@McJibbin To answer your PM question, The King is the commander and chief of the Armed forces, and the King has a government which is run by ministers to run the country daily. The top dog minister is known as the Prime minister and is typically the elected leader of whichever political party that the people have voted into Power. After an election, the winning party's leader will meet with the king for permission to form a new government. If Russia were to try a swift attack, it would be up to the Prime minister to authorise the QRF to shoot down any real-time threats. (he would then naturally Brief the King informing him that his RAF had engaged in combat) That said, Only the King can declare War so the Prime minister must present a case to the King if there is ever a need to declare war. The Armed forces swear an Auth of allegiance to the Crown, not the UK government.

[@Carlinferno]

There’s another program like this one but a bit more up to date it follows the training of some raf pilots and some is filmed in an raf base in Cyprus

[@baitcat]

I worked in defence, the Navy like 2 jet engines because if they miss the runway on a ship they neet to get as much speed as they can so they dont fall into the sea. But 2 engines are obscenely expensive so not all aircraft are kitted out with 2

[@philipgardner7360]

They are the exhaust from Two jet engines..when the take off they use extra boost called afterburners to take off faster..

[@stevencharnock9271]

Regular intercepts go on every week especially Russian Bear aircraft trying to penetrate UK area of interest. The job is to deter however if the Bear was to come into UK airspace they will have the option of being forced to land at an airstrip or being forced to land in pieces 😂 We often get the fighters turning before going supersonic so the bang is out at sea however on occasion they are cleared to go flat out to intercept

[@orrbugger]

The USA have a few bases here in the UK. I often see F15 and F35 aircraft fly over my house on their way to the Mach loop for training

[@nigeldewallens1115]

My uncle's and aunts and my parents were in the Second World War and my Uncle at 22 was too old to fly a fighter plane! Let that sink in!! My mum was in one of those underground places they talked about! She worked in a department with four other WRAF ladies. It was called Special Intelligence Reporting Office! SIROS for short! o,e day my mum was on duty alone and got a call from Dutch resistance about a V2 launch! My mum reported it on a direct line and then, went of duty for lunch, above ground! As she was biting into a new felling called Peanut butter! The very V2 my mum had reported landed less than 60feet from her wooden hut! My mum said it shook violently! My mum died in 2019 aged 95!

[@mickbird2392]

Pull it together mate 'these things at the back of the plane😂'. Don't worry bud we all have those moments from time to time😊

[@michaelkimber6203]

P.s. the Eurofighter has twin EJ200 engines, therefore twin afterburners (producing around 27,000 lbf) 😱👌

[@TexasRancher22]

27,000 😂 the f35 single engine produces 43,000 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@MrDaiki_]

@@TexasRancher22 And yet the Typhoon has a higher top speed, climbs faster, has more range, and has the same service ceiling. What's your point? They're completely different aircraft designed for completely different roles.

[@TexasRancher22]

@@MrDaiki_ and yet the British are constantly begging to buy our older jets. Cope some more bubba

[@MrDaiki_]

@TexasRancher22 Cope? Please do a little research before you let your patriotism make you look a fool. You understand that British companies like BAE systems contributed a huge amount to the F35 development, like, almost 30%.... It's stated on the wiki page in the second sentance lmao. We literally have software AND hardware rights lmao. So it's not quite as red blooded as you might've hoped buddy. Also, I'm curious as to why you think we are after old US jets? Because as someone who literally fixes our jets, I can assure you, we don't 🤣

[@MrDaiki_]

@@TexasRancher22 Careful, your patriotism is revealing your idiocy. Are you aware that as a tier 1 partner in the F35 program, the UK is responsible for around a quarter of the development of the jet? You understand we own software AND hardware rights for the F35 lmao. BAE systems is listed literally in the second sentence of the F35s wiki page. So the jet really isn't as red blooded as you might hope 'bubba' I don't know where you read that the UK wants old US aircraft, but as someone who literally fixes our jets, trust me... we don't.

[@Mr_Dumpty]

3:50 In theory yes you are correct. In practice it seems to me that most of the scrambles are to intercept probing Russian aircraft, usually Tu-95/142s. Edit: 19:40 Haha, jet engines or those parts specifically are the jet nozzles! Some have one engine others have two, there are advantages to both, though two are usually better. Two engines provide more power but also require a much larger and heavier fighter. Single engine fighters tend to be smaller, lighter and therefore, in theory, also cheaper.

[@alexfletcher5192]

I went to an air show at RAF Coningsby in the mid-80s. My memories are of the Harrier jump jet (loud as fuck) and being terrified by the Vulcan bomber going overhead like a fucking Pteranodon. It hardly seemed possible that it stayed in the air.

[@nicksykes4575]

Flt Lt Jon's next job after this was in the Red Arrows, he was on the North American tour they did in 2019. All aircraft have a transponder that automatically identifies them to air traffic control, who can see if they deviate from their filed flight plan, if a plane was acting like you suggested, it would already be of interest to ATC, either because it was not transmitting and just headed in the general direction of London. but just outside British airspace, or if it was a hi-jacked plane, its transponder would show it was way off course, in either scenario alarm bells would be ringing long before they started heading directly for London, The Typhoons would probable be alongside them as soon as they entered British airspace.

[@MostH8ted]

when a plane is seen in the rader they are in range to be caught up with in 5 mins by the RAF

[@michaelkimber6203]

Cheers for this Mac 👌. The cold war is a constant here in Europe. The Russians are continually prodding and probing our airspace. Fortunately we also have, among our neighbours, many skilled aviators who are constantly vigilant. I know it's now considered old tec, but i love the Typhoon Eurofighter. it's agile and packs a punch. 💪🇬🇧

[@BlizzardExtreme]

18:20 the spitfire in the video sadly crashed a few months ago and the pilot passed away, last ever spitfire to have confirmed kills in battle of britain sadly nolonger exists. RIP to the pilot who lost his life who was based at RAF Coningsby and a active typhoon pilot. RIP Squadron Leader Mark Long.

[@dianehodgkinson7113]

4 Generations of my family have been / are in the RAF (RFC in WWI) - In the US you have the luxury of not been targeted in the 1940's by daily bombing - People seem to forget we are a small island in the Atlantic. Us Brits, remember / are told of WWII and the destruction done by The Luftwaffe - The Germans always whinge about our Bombing of Dresden - Many of us have the same response - Coventry! We don't forget and we make sure whatever the threat we will defend our home! - Side note - Brits even now have odd quirks the rest of the world don't understand - We are stubborn and never give in to anyone, we have not been 'invaded' since 1066 and never will be!

[@ScottBOnline]

Regards your point at 30:14, if a plane was nearing the British airspace circa 168-200 miles out from London via the North Sea as an example, where a 'foreign' plane would enter into the English/French Channel from. At 500mph, as per remark, it would take a plane 20m10s, to be at central London, but if your talk about a hijacked 747 as an example which can cruise at 575mph, then you are bringing that figure down to as little as 17minutes. Therefore, the QRA force is no joke, and they need to be in the air within minutes of getting the alert call, to have at least 10 minutes of interaction with said plane, before having to make an ultimate decision.

[@mountaingoat2340]

@McJibbin - rear component of jet engine = exhaust. Two exhausts = two/twin engines, one only = single engine.