Choppers, believed to be from the SAS, have put on an extraordinary show of force over the skies of London in their top-of-the-range new anti-terror helicopters.
Elite forces were spotted flying over landmarks such as Big Ben, the Shard and the London Eye, during an apparent training exercise yesterday.
In the event of an attack, the UK’s elite fighting force will swoop into action on the £43million heli-plane which has been nicknamed the ‘Transformer’.
And the exercise came less than 24 hours after Islamic State widow Sally Jones issued a chilling warning to avoid visiting the capital this summer.
SAS take to the skies over London in anti-terror helicopters - skimming over the Eye and along the Thames - just a day after ISIS widow issued a warning over the capital's tubes this summer
British Army's elite put on show of force less than 24 hours after ISIS widow warned people not to visit London
SAS spotted flying over landmarks such as Big Ben, The Shard and London Eye in their new anti-terror choppers
Comes a day after jihadi bride Sally Jones threatened London with summer bombing campaign on Underground
In the event of an attack, SAS would swoop into action on the £43million heli-plane nicknamed the ‘Transformer’
See more Islamic State news as the SAS take the to the skies over London in anti-terror helicopters
By Alexander Robertson For Mailonline
27 May 2016
Daily Mail
Choppers, believed to be from the SAS, have put on an extraordinary show of force over the skies of London in their top-of-the-range new anti-terror helicopters.
Elite forces were spotted flying over landmarks such as Big Ben, the Shard and the London Eye, during an apparent training exercise yesterday.
In the event of an attack, the UK’s elite fighting force will swoop into action on the £43million heli-plane which has been nicknamed the ‘Transformer’.
And the exercise came less than 24 hours after Islamic State widow Sally Jones issued a chilling warning to avoid visiting the capital this summer.
A V-22 Osprey aircraft makes its way down the Thames over the London Eye as part of what is believed to be an SAS training exercise
In the event of an attack, the UK’s elite fighting force will swoop into action on the £43million heli-plane nicknamed the ‘Transformer’
The MV-22 Osprey Tiltrotor over the Thames in London yesterday afternoon as they carry out training exercises in the capital
SAS troops on high alert to respond to a Paris-style strike in the UK are training to use the V22 Osprey at Stirling Lines in Credenhill, Herefordshire.
People in the capital were quick to spot the Ospreys as they roared above, with many taking to social media to comment on the awe-inspiring choppers.
It came a day after a British jihadi bride threatened London with a summer bombing campaign on the Underground.
Sally Jones taunted the public on Wednesday by tweeting: 'You all scare so easily... it only takes a few tweets, because you are pathetic England.'
The ISIS recruiter known as 'Mrs Terror' concluded the message with: 'But b4 I go, I just wanna say... have a nice summer.'
The 47-year-old provoked outrage when she wrote on social media: 'To be honest I wouldn't go into Central London through June... or even July.
'Well to be honest I wouldn't go there at all especially by Tube.'
She also tweeted: 'England... Boom' moments before she was suspended from Twitter by administrators.
Sally Jones, an ISIS recruiter known as 'Mrs Terror', has taunted civilians in the UK again, calling England 'pathetic' - a day after she issued a chilling threat which warned of terror attacks in London
Londoners spotted the two Ospreys as they roared above, with many taking to social media to comment on the awe-inspiring choppers
A CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft flying over Tate Modern in Central London yesterday as the SAS were spotted flying over landmarks
The Army's elite soldiers put on a show of force less than 24 hours after ISIS widow Sally Jones warned people not to visit the capital
Should such an attack ever occur, the Osprey, which is almost twice as fast as the SAS’s current fleet of transport helicopters and can carry at least 24 fully equipped personnel, will almost certainly see action.
With a top speed of 360mph it can deploy soldiers from Hereford to London in 30 minutes to bolster the SAS’s anti-terror squad which is permanently based in the capital, and to Manchester in about the same time.
The Osprey has machine guns installed in the nose and on the rear ramp. Its range is also much greater than transport helicopters currently in service.
It can fly for up to 1,000 miles or eight hours without refuelling, meaning that if terrorists launch strikes across the UK, the same aircraft could fly troops to several locations.
An SAS source told the Mail on Sunday last month: ‘This is an essential new piece of equipment for us which will make it much easier and faster for us to respond in the event of an attack.
'With its vertical take-off and landing capability we could fly directly from Hereford and land in any city, even in a confined space.’
While critics of the Osprey point to the aircraft’s poor safety record – 36 military personnel have been killed since its first test flight in the United States – it has performed well in trials with the SAS.
SAS troops on high alert to respond to a Paris-style strike in this country are training to use the V22 Osprey at Stirling Lines near Hereford
Should a terror attack ever occur, the Osprey, which can carry at least 24 fully equipped personnel, will almost certainly see action
Soldiers have also parachuted from the Osprey and abseiled from it on to a building as part of a hostage rescue exercise.
The Osprey’s ability to perform as a helicopter and as a fixed-wing aircraft is due to proprotors – the name given to the three 19ft-long rotors attached to each wing.
It takes off like a conventional helicopter then the proprotors and engines rotate through 90 degrees to turn it into a fixed-wing aircraft.
The aircraft’s Rolls-Royce engines generate enough horsepower for the Osprey to climb at an impressive 36ft per second, making it a faster, more elusive target than a helicopter.
It can also fly at up to 26,000ft, thereby avoiding enemy missiles, while its carbon-fibre fuselage reduces the impact of bullets and rockets.
V-22 OSPREY AND ITS ACCIDENT HISTORY: 36 MILITARY PERSONNEL KILLED SINCE ITS FIRST TEST FLIGHT IN THE US
The V-22 Osprey has had a controversial history, with 36 military personnel killed since its first test flight in the United States.
During its testing phase from 1991 to 2000, it suffered four crashes resulting in 30 fatalities.
Since it became operational in 2007, six other soldiers have been killed while travelling in the aircraft.
One crash in 2012 in Morocco killed two Marines, while another saw the aircraft flip over at a Florida air base and injure all five aboard.
In 2014 a Marine drowned when bailing out of the aircraft after it lost power shortly after take-off from the USS Makin Island in the Persian Gulf.
And a downed Osprey during a training exercise in Hawaii in May 2015 saw two US Marines die after the aircraft exploded into flames.
But the aircraft – which can carry up to 36 troops or a small, specially designed fighting Growler vehicle - has performed well in trials with the SAS.
The small, fast transport plane is able to fly like an aeroplane, but can take off and land on ship decks and makeshift landing pads like a helicopter.
Elite forces were spotted flying over landmarks such as Big Ben, the Shard and the London Eye, during an apparent training exercise yesterday.
In the event of an attack, the UK’s elite fighting force will swoop into action on the £43million heli-plane which has been nicknamed the ‘Transformer’.
And the exercise came less than 24 hours after Islamic State widow Sally Jones issued a chilling warning to avoid visiting the capital this summer.
SAS take to the skies over London in anti-terror helicopters - skimming over the Eye and along the Thames - just a day after ISIS widow issued a warning over the capital's tubes this summer
British Army's elite put on show of force less than 24 hours after ISIS widow warned people not to visit London
SAS spotted flying over landmarks such as Big Ben, The Shard and London Eye in their new anti-terror choppers
Comes a day after jihadi bride Sally Jones threatened London with summer bombing campaign on Underground
In the event of an attack, SAS would swoop into action on the £43million heli-plane nicknamed the ‘Transformer’
See more Islamic State news as the SAS take the to the skies over London in anti-terror helicopters
By Alexander Robertson For Mailonline
27 May 2016
Daily Mail
Choppers, believed to be from the SAS, have put on an extraordinary show of force over the skies of London in their top-of-the-range new anti-terror helicopters.
Elite forces were spotted flying over landmarks such as Big Ben, the Shard and the London Eye, during an apparent training exercise yesterday.
In the event of an attack, the UK’s elite fighting force will swoop into action on the £43million heli-plane which has been nicknamed the ‘Transformer’.
And the exercise came less than 24 hours after Islamic State widow Sally Jones issued a chilling warning to avoid visiting the capital this summer.
A V-22 Osprey aircraft makes its way down the Thames over the London Eye as part of what is believed to be an SAS training exercise
In the event of an attack, the UK’s elite fighting force will swoop into action on the £43million heli-plane nicknamed the ‘Transformer’
The MV-22 Osprey Tiltrotor over the Thames in London yesterday afternoon as they carry out training exercises in the capital
SAS troops on high alert to respond to a Paris-style strike in the UK are training to use the V22 Osprey at Stirling Lines in Credenhill, Herefordshire.
People in the capital were quick to spot the Ospreys as they roared above, with many taking to social media to comment on the awe-inspiring choppers.
It came a day after a British jihadi bride threatened London with a summer bombing campaign on the Underground.
Sally Jones taunted the public on Wednesday by tweeting: 'You all scare so easily... it only takes a few tweets, because you are pathetic England.'
The ISIS recruiter known as 'Mrs Terror' concluded the message with: 'But b4 I go, I just wanna say... have a nice summer.'
The 47-year-old provoked outrage when she wrote on social media: 'To be honest I wouldn't go into Central London through June... or even July.
'Well to be honest I wouldn't go there at all especially by Tube.'
She also tweeted: 'England... Boom' moments before she was suspended from Twitter by administrators.
Sally Jones, an ISIS recruiter known as 'Mrs Terror', has taunted civilians in the UK again, calling England 'pathetic' - a day after she issued a chilling threat which warned of terror attacks in London
Londoners spotted the two Ospreys as they roared above, with many taking to social media to comment on the awe-inspiring choppers
A CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft flying over Tate Modern in Central London yesterday as the SAS were spotted flying over landmarks
The Army's elite soldiers put on a show of force less than 24 hours after ISIS widow Sally Jones warned people not to visit the capital
Should such an attack ever occur, the Osprey, which is almost twice as fast as the SAS’s current fleet of transport helicopters and can carry at least 24 fully equipped personnel, will almost certainly see action.
With a top speed of 360mph it can deploy soldiers from Hereford to London in 30 minutes to bolster the SAS’s anti-terror squad which is permanently based in the capital, and to Manchester in about the same time.
The Osprey has machine guns installed in the nose and on the rear ramp. Its range is also much greater than transport helicopters currently in service.
It can fly for up to 1,000 miles or eight hours without refuelling, meaning that if terrorists launch strikes across the UK, the same aircraft could fly troops to several locations.
An SAS source told the Mail on Sunday last month: ‘This is an essential new piece of equipment for us which will make it much easier and faster for us to respond in the event of an attack.
'With its vertical take-off and landing capability we could fly directly from Hereford and land in any city, even in a confined space.’
While critics of the Osprey point to the aircraft’s poor safety record – 36 military personnel have been killed since its first test flight in the United States – it has performed well in trials with the SAS.
SAS troops on high alert to respond to a Paris-style strike in this country are training to use the V22 Osprey at Stirling Lines near Hereford
Should a terror attack ever occur, the Osprey, which can carry at least 24 fully equipped personnel, will almost certainly see action
Soldiers have also parachuted from the Osprey and abseiled from it on to a building as part of a hostage rescue exercise.
The Osprey’s ability to perform as a helicopter and as a fixed-wing aircraft is due to proprotors – the name given to the three 19ft-long rotors attached to each wing.
It takes off like a conventional helicopter then the proprotors and engines rotate through 90 degrees to turn it into a fixed-wing aircraft.
The aircraft’s Rolls-Royce engines generate enough horsepower for the Osprey to climb at an impressive 36ft per second, making it a faster, more elusive target than a helicopter.
It can also fly at up to 26,000ft, thereby avoiding enemy missiles, while its carbon-fibre fuselage reduces the impact of bullets and rockets.
V-22 OSPREY AND ITS ACCIDENT HISTORY: 36 MILITARY PERSONNEL KILLED SINCE ITS FIRST TEST FLIGHT IN THE US
The V-22 Osprey has had a controversial history, with 36 military personnel killed since its first test flight in the United States.
During its testing phase from 1991 to 2000, it suffered four crashes resulting in 30 fatalities.
Since it became operational in 2007, six other soldiers have been killed while travelling in the aircraft.
One crash in 2012 in Morocco killed two Marines, while another saw the aircraft flip over at a Florida air base and injure all five aboard.
In 2014 a Marine drowned when bailing out of the aircraft after it lost power shortly after take-off from the USS Makin Island in the Persian Gulf.
And a downed Osprey during a training exercise in Hawaii in May 2015 saw two US Marines die after the aircraft exploded into flames.
But the aircraft – which can carry up to 36 troops or a small, specially designed fighting Growler vehicle - has performed well in trials with the SAS.
The small, fast transport plane is able to fly like an aeroplane, but can take off and land on ship decks and makeshift landing pads like a helicopter.
