US practises shooting down missiles off Scotland

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.

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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.