Washington could provide air cover in a deal that would see the US gain access to Ukraine’s rare earth and minerals, UK government officials believe, possibly in the form of Patriot air defence missiles.
The Patriots would bolster Ukrainian firepower from barrages of missiles and drones that have overwhelmed the country’s air defence systems, with The Times reporting a Government source saying air cover hasn’t been ruled out by the US.
But Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British Army Colonel, warned that any air cover provided by the US to protect troops monitoring a peace deal with Russia would be at risk of an attack.
A Patriot missile mobile launcher is displayed outside the Fort Sill Army Post near Lawton, Okla., in, 2023 (Photo: AP Photo/Sean Murphy, File)
“If somebody had the affront to shoot down one of his jets, I think Trump would probably have an overwhelming and disproportionate response.
But a viable peacekeeping force without American air and ground-based air cover would be very difficult, he said.
UK peacekeeping force in Ukraine would need Putin agreement
Read More“We can barely protect our own airspace with the limited amount of jets we have.”
But it would be expected that Russia would see the downing of a US jet as more risky than shooting down a European plane.
“So even if Trump didn’t want us to respond personally, the US political system and how they treat their military, revere them, that would probably change the calculations.
Lord West of Spithead, former head of the Royal Navy, said US jets monitoring a no-fly zone over Ukraine would mean Washington had “money in the game”, but added it wasn’t clear they were indicating that level of military involvement at the moment.
“And once people start shooting them down, then Russia will think that they’re at war with America.”
But as well as armed fighter jets such as Typhoons and air defence systems – air refuelling tankers and surveillance platforms for airborne radar intelligence or ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance), which uses air, space, and cyber systems to gather and share information – would be required.
“My concern would be how stable the situation would be in those early months,” he said.
“You are now talking about, potentially, a European aircraft engaging Russian aircraft with all, with all the problems that that clearly creates.
“The trick is, what do you do when you observe something that you want to stop? Then we’re talking about potentially striking an incoming convoy. Well, that’s just changed the game.”
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