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Royal Air Force Fighter Planes Show Britain's Closer Ties with Israel
(The Sunday Times-UK) Anshel Pfeffer - In October, RAF fighter jets streaked over the Negev desert as part of Israel's Blue Flag exercise. Visiting countries practiced flying in a "contested environment," with Russian-built radar and anti-aircraft missiles trying to lock onto aircraft and Israeli UAVs simulating enemy drone attacks. RAF Wing Commander John Cockroft led the deployment of 150 personnel and six Typhoon FGR4s to Israel. Such a deployment would have been diplomatically unthinkable only a few years ago. In the past few years, RAF fighter jets and aerial tankers taking off from Cyprus have routinely crossed Israeli airspace to carry out missions against ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq. Britain's acquisitions of Israeli military hardware have multiplied, including guided missiles, drones and training simulators for pilots and submarine crews.