Trump’s £800m warning to Putin
US sends state-of-the-art fighter jets to RAF base
AMERICA has sent the world’s most advanced stealth fighter jets to Britain as part of a build-up of troops across Europe in a show of strength against Russia.
Eight US F- 35A supersonic aircraft will take part in Nato drills from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk amid soaring aggression from Moscow.
It is the first time the £100million jets have been deployed overseas.
US Air Force commander General Tod Wolters said the deployment to British soil was a ‘game-changer for deterrence in the region’.
The move comes as the UK builds up its forces across Eastern Europe. Speaking 50 miles from the Russian border yesterday, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon announced four Typhoons will deploy from RAF Conningsby to Romania on Monday.
They will carry out policing missions after repeated Russian incursions into Nato air space. He also said a Type 45 destroyer will also be dispatched to the Black Sea.
Sir Michael made the announcement from Estonia, where he officially marked the deployment of 800 UK troops to the country to lead a Nato mission against Russian aggression. Soldiers from 5 Rifles, drones and 300 vehicles, including tanks, are now stationed in the country as part of the biggest military deployment on Russia’s borders since the Cold War.
Sir Michael said: ‘This is one of our largest ever deployments to Eastern Europe. It is here to help deter. These troops are here to help deter, reassure and if necessary to reinforce. It shows Nato’s increasing agility – its ability to respond gives the lie to any suggestion that Nato is obsolescent or creaking.’
He said the deployment marked the UK’s commitment to European security ‘in the face of an increasingly assertive Russia’. Speaking at a ceremony at the UK’s new base in Estonia, Sir Michael added: ‘You are doing us proud deterring us against aggression. Estonia does not stand alone on its frontier of freedom.
‘This feels like the most tense relations with Russia since the end of the Cold War, but we are talking to them. No one should pretend these deployments are anything other than propor- tionate and defensive.’ General Sir James Everard, the most senior UK officer in Nato, said the British troops were at the ‘front of the shield’.
Estonian defence minister Margus Tsahkna warned there was a ‘triumph of evil when good men do nothing’, adding: ‘Being alone is not an option.’
He said: ‘ Dear allies, you standing here symbolises Nato’s resolve and unity.
‘We will avoid the mistakes of the past. Only by standing together will we be able to keep our people safe.’
Meanwhile, the US stepped up its presence in Europe by sending its new jets to the UK. Two squadrons of America’s F-35A Lightning jets will be based in Suffolk permanently from 2021.
Costing £100 million each, the jets are considered the world’s most advanced warplane and can fly at more than 1,200mph. They carry a devastating arsenal of weaponry, including Paveway missiles, and can also carry nuclear devices.
Gen Wolters said: ‘It is important that we train together to integrate into a seamless team capable of defending the sovereignty of allied nations.
‘This deployment allows our pilots and maintainers to learn more about the European operating environment and will improve our inter- operability with partners in the region.’