More than 3,000 troops, 14 ships and 10 fighter jets will practise intercepting and shooting down missiles in a month-long training exercise off the coast of Scotland as the threat of war with North Korea intensifies.
The US is leading missile interception tests in the “huge” military exercise that got underway at the Hebrides Range in the Western Isles on Sunday, The Scottish Sun newspaper reports.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon says Britain is at the forefront of the international response to the “growing threat”, The Independent reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fallon says the military exercise off Scotland will combat the threat posed by intercontinental ballistic missiles from North Korea and other “rogue states”. North Korea’s missile tests appear to have prompted Nato’s Formidable Shield exercise, the first time Nato allies have practised defending against incoming ballistic missiles with no prior warning in Europe, The Independent adds.
The UK is thought to be within range of North Korea’s longest range missiles. The country’s missiles could potentially have a range of more than 6,200 miles, which would put London (at 5,388 miles from Pyongyang) in proximity to Kim Jong-un’s missiles, The Sun reports, noting that North Korean information is difficult to verify.
Exercise Formidable Shield, which runs until 18 October, involves ships and aircraft from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Canada and the US. Fourteen ships, 10 aircraft and about 3,300 personnel will be involved, according to a Nato statement.
In August, Kim Jong-un warned that the UK “faces a miserable end” should it join the US and South Korean military exercises currently taking place in response to North Korea’s nuclear regime, The Daily Telegraph reported.
-
What to know before turning to AI for financial advicethe explainer It can help you crunch the numbers — but it might also pocket your data
-
Book reviews: 'The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction—and a Search for Relief' and 'Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run'Feature The search for a headache cure and revisiting Springsteen's 'Born to Run' album on its 50th anniversary
-
Keith McNally' 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
-
Would North Korean weapons tilt the war Russia’s way?Today's Big Question Putin wants to boost ‘depleted stocks’ but Pyongyang’s arms may be in poor condition
-
US soldier detained by North Korea after crossing borderSpeed Read
-
North Korea launches 1,000km missile towards Japan after threatening USSpeed Read Pyongyang warned Washington of ‘shocking’ repercussions over alleged spy planes
-
North Korea claims 800,000 people volunteered to fight against the U.S.Speed Read
-
The next Kim Jong UnSpeed Read Is his daughter's turn in the public eye any indication of the leader's succession plans?
-
The Week Unwrapped: Korean succession, terror by algorithm and German disquietpodcast Could a 10-year-old girl rule North Korea? Will an Isis victim upend web law? And why is Germany upset with its Oscars contender?
-
U.S. holds air exercises with Asian nations following North Korean missile testSpeed Read
-
Kim Jong Un reportedly wants his daughter to be the only person in North Korea named 'Ju Ae'Speed Read
