Two British traffic patrol officers from North
Berwick were involved in an unusual incident
while checking for speeding motorists on the
A1 Great North Road.
One of the officers used a hand-held radar device to
check the speed of a vehicle approaching over the
crest of a hill, and was surprised when the
speed was recorded at over 300 mph! Their radar then
suddenly stopped working and the officers were
not able to reset it.
Just then, a deafening roar over the treetops
revealed that the radar had, in fact, latched on
to an RAF's 'Tornado' jet fighter, which was engaged in
a low-flying exercise over the Border district,
approaching from the North Sea.
Back at police headquarters the chief constable
fired off a stiff complaint about the wrecked
radar equipment to the "RAF Liaison" office.
Back came the reply in true laconic "RAF" style:
"Thank you for your message, which allows us to
complete the file on this incident. You may be
interested to know that the tactical computer in the
Tornado detected the presence of, and subsequently
locked onto, your radar equipment, and automatically
sent a jamming signal back to it. Furthermore,
an air-to-ground missile aboard the fully-armed
aircraft also automatically locked onto your equipment.
Fortunately the pilot flying the Tornado recognized
the situation, and was able to override the automated
defence system before the missile was launched.
Have a good day."
Berwick were involved in an unusual incident
while checking for speeding motorists on the
A1 Great North Road.
One of the officers used a hand-held radar device to
check the speed of a vehicle approaching over the
crest of a hill, and was surprised when the
speed was recorded at over 300 mph! Their radar then
suddenly stopped working and the officers were
not able to reset it.
Just then, a deafening roar over the treetops
revealed that the radar had, in fact, latched on
to an RAF's 'Tornado' jet fighter, which was engaged in
a low-flying exercise over the Border district,
approaching from the North Sea.
Back at police headquarters the chief constable
fired off a stiff complaint about the wrecked
radar equipment to the "RAF Liaison" office.
Back came the reply in true laconic "RAF" style:
"Thank you for your message, which allows us to
complete the file on this incident. You may be
interested to know that the tactical computer in the
Tornado detected the presence of, and subsequently
locked onto, your radar equipment, and automatically
sent a jamming signal back to it. Furthermore,
an air-to-ground missile aboard the fully-armed
aircraft also automatically locked onto your equipment.
Fortunately the pilot flying the Tornado recognized
the situation, and was able to override the automated
defence system before the missile was launched.
Have a good day."
