Royal Air Force news stories on Newser

Prince Harry in Calif. This Week for Training

Rob Quinn — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:02:27 CDT

Prince Harry will arrive in California this week but he won't be getting the red-carpet treatment his brother received earlier this year. The prince is coming to America for two months of helicopter gunship training at bases in California and Arizona, CNN reports. "He will be Captain Wales when he...

Helmet Lets Pilots Shoot Targets With a Glance

Matt Cantor — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:36:56 CST

Equipped with new headgear, British fighter pilots can knock enemies from the sky with a mere gaze. The $390,000 Striker helmet shows pilots nearby radar-detected targets. The pilot merely looks at a target to choose it, then speaks to fire. It’s one of the biggest technological advances the military...

Prince William to the Rescue!

Kevin Spak — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:59:00 CDT

Prince William can’t actually go to war like his younger brother Harry, so the future king is doing the next best thing: He’s joined the Royal Air Force’s search and rescue program, where he’ll pilot a Sea King rescue helicopter. “This is a very exciting, dramatic job, and at times,...

Churchill Ordered Air Force to Hide UFO Encounter

Mary Papenfuss — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:10:00 CDT

Winston Churchill ordered the Royal Air Force to keep secret a suspected UFO encounter during World War II because he feared public hysteria and loss of religious faith, according to newly released documents. "This event should be immediately classified since it would create mass panic and destroy one's belief in...

Brit Princes Yearn to See Front Lines

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:01:31 CDT

Prince William is older, but Prince Harry went to war first—and, he says, “if Harry can do it then I can.” Harry, joining his brother at the media event yesterday, said his helicopter training is the “easiest way of getting to the front lines,” People reports. William, who is...

Stolen RAF Files on Drug Use, Sex Spark Blackmail Fears

Matt Cantor — Mon, 25 May 2009 08:51:10 CDT

Top British military officials are at risk of blackmail after three Royal Air Force hard drives containing revealing vetting details were stolen, the Daily Mail reports. Files on the drives told of “criminal investigations, drug abuse, use of prostitutes, and extra-marital affairs,” said a Ministry of Defense memo. “This data...

British Town Honors War Dead With Silent Farewells

Rob Quinn — Tue, 19 May 2009 04:00:49 CDT

A lone man's silent salute to a military hearse grew into a tradition that now involves thousands who line the streets of a small British town, the New York Times reports. The bodies of UK troops killed in Afghanistan pass through Wootton Bassett on the way from the nearby air...

British Military Blasted Over White Male Toy Soldiers

Mary Papenfuss — Sun, 03 May 2009 07:57:51 CDT

The British Defense Ministry is under fire for backing a new line of all-male toy soldiers, reports the Guardian .The promotional campaign for the new toys is also all-white. The figures were created with the help of senior officials from Britain's army, navy, and the Royal Air Force. They carry...

Brit Dog Walker Reported Close Encounter of the Alien Kind

Mary Papenfuss — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 19:00:00 CDT

Another tale from the UK's recently released military files on UFOs comes from a dog-walker, who reports encountering an extraterrestrial who spoke in a Scandinavian accent. It was classified as a "genuine call" by a Royal Air Force phone operator, reports the Telegraph . The alien, appearing in human form in...