Today’s defence related news includes the announcement that four RAF Typhoon jets will be deployed to Romania from May as part of our Southern Air Policing Mission.
Typhoons in Romania
The Scotsman, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Telegraph,and The Daily Record report on the Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon’s announcement that the UK will be deploying four RAF Typhoons to Romania from May as part of NATO’s efforts to reassure eastern European countries.
The story is also covered online on the Sky News, Daily Mirror, The Daily Express Online, Belfast Telegraphand ITV News websites.
The Defence Secretary made the announcement speaking at the International Parliamentary Conference on National Security in London.
Secretary of State for Defence Sir Michael Fallon said:
The UK is stepping up its support for NATO’s collective defence from the north to the south of the alliance. Through this deployment, RAF planes will be ready to secure NATO airspace and provide reassurance to allies in the Black Sea region.
Read more here. The Defence Secretary’s full speech can also be found here.
Mosul
A variety of newspapers cover the ongoing battle to retake Mosul from Daesh, with The Times reporting that Amnesty International have released a report looking at civilians possibly killed by coalition airstrikes on Mosul.
A Ministry of Defence Spokesman said:
As operations to liberate western Mosul and Raqqa intensify, the RAF continues to provide precision close air support to ground forces engaged in difficult urban combat. We conduct detailed assessments after each strike and review information from organisations such as Airwars and we have not seen evidence that we have been responsible for civilian casualties so far. Through our rigorous targeting processes we will continue to seek to minimise the risk of civilian casualties, but that risk can never be removed entirely.
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