Britain’s air force would struggle to function in sub-zero temperature in the Arctic, the head of the RAF has admitted.
The RAF is shifting its focus to the High North as the UK looks to appease Donald Trump following the diplomatic spat over the ownership of Greenland.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth said decades of fighting in the Middle East with conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq meant the service is ‘incredibly good’ at high temperatures of above 35 degrees.
But he is ‘not 100 per cent sure’ it would able to cope at minus 30 degrees.
‘It’s a much more hostile environment,’ the defence chief said at a speech at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London on Tuesday.
‘We have become an air force that’s incredibly good at operating in the Middle East.
‘I know I can send any squadron out the door and they can work in plus 35 degrees and make airplanes work and fly really good missions.
‘I’m not 100 per cent sure we could do that in minus 30 degrees.
Britain’s air force would struggle to function in sub-zero temperature in the Arctic, the head of the RAF has admitted
Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth (pictured) said he is ‘not 100 per cent sure’ the RAF would able to cope at minus 30 degrees
A shortage in specialist kit could see the RAF struggle to deploy a force in the Arctic for a sustained period of time.
Military bosses are concerned about the lack of warm clothing for staff and lubricants to keep jets flying and generators running.
The Armed Force developed great proficiency in fighting in Arctic conditions during the Cold War but they have mostly focused on warmer climates in recent decades, amid conflicts in the Middle East.
AM Smyth said he wanted to ‘pivot back’ to when engineers were able to work in freezing conditions.
On Saturday, Sir Keir Starmer announced he was sending a Navy carrier force north towards Greenland as he warned Putin’s strength is growing in a speech at the Munich Security Conference.
It came after the US President triggered widespread panic among Britain and its allies over his plans to take over Greenland.
Mr Trump eventually rowed back on his threats to invade the territory but placed significant pressure on Europe to bolster their defence spending and operations.
Speaking at Saturday’s event in Munich, the Prime Minister said Russia is rebuilding its army and hit out at the ‘easy answers of the extremes of left and right’.
Claiming that both the Greens and Reform are ideological extremists who are ‘soft on Russia and weak on NATO’, the PM said they would undermine Britain’s national security and bring war to Europe if they were in power.
The RAF is shifting its focus to the High North as the UK looks to appease Donald Trump following the diplomatic spat over the ownership of Greenland
Sir Keir hit out at past leaders for ‘looking the other way’ and warned that Russia could be ready to invade the rest of Europe by ‘the end of the decade’.
He added: ‘We must be ready to fight’ and do whatever ‘it takes to protect our people, our values and our way of life.
‘As Europe, we must stand on our own two feet.
‘That means being bolder, it means putting away petty politics and short-term concerns. It means acting together to build a stronger Europe and a more European Nato.’
