Original subtitles

This program me contains strong language from the start.

The risks for us today, there will be Russian fighters out there.

I'm representing the United Kingdom on the global stage.

Mistakes can be catastrophic.

Bit of a shock, the first time you see a Russian alongside you.

Things can go wrong pretty quickly.

You need to be prepared to do what you need to do.

The RAF is on high alert.

The world at the moment is not in the best of places.

The Russian vessel running along at ten knots.

Everything that's happening with Russia and Ukraine,

it's like a tinderbox.

You're doing an important role protecting from Vladdy the Baddy.

Let's go, boys.

With conflict in Europe and the Middle East...

...British Warplanes are poised to face any threat.

We are one trigger press away from starting World War IIl.

Only when you have sat in your own pee for about two hours

over the Mosul have you really made it.

It's what you don't see on Top Gun.

Ready? Yeah.

Bam!

20-4. 20-47? Yeah.

Jesus, clearly I work too much and don't play enough ping pong.

RAF Lossiemouth's 9 Squadron has been deployed

close to the Russian border in Eastern Europe,

on a mission to protect NATO airspace.

PHONE RINGS

Proceed to initial runway 06. Direct to runway 32.

The alliance has just grown in size.

In the past few minutes, Finland has officially joined NATO

becoming its 31st member.

Let's listen to the announcement made just a few minutes ago.

Finland has been accepted into

the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation,

set up after World War II to preserve peace in Europe.

We can now declare that Finland is the 31st member

of the North Atlantic Treaty.

It's a big day for Finland, certainly.

Any new member of NATO is always going to be

a significant time in history.

I'm Wing Commander Richard Leask,

Officer Commanding 9 Squadron.

I've got about 150 personnel, ops, intelligence,

that all comes under me.

To cement Finland's new status,

Richard's taking part in a large-scale military exercise

alongside the Finnish air force.

Today, we've got four Finnish F18s

arriving in Amari Air Force Base out in Estonia.

Having them here and be part of NATO is fantastic.

That's the Finnish F18s.

Pull up a chair mate, we'll sit together.

Synopsis, looks like a nice day, ridge of high pressure building.

Should be good above about 4,000 feet, we'll have clear air.

Your call sign is going to be Baron 1-1.

It's my job today to be deputy mission commander

for this large force exercise.

It's a big responsibility,

there's a bit of nerves to make sure you get it right.

The show of strength will take place to the north,

a few miles from Russian airspace,

with aircraft from six other NATO members.

The aim is going to be gain

and maintain a favourable air situation.

We've got three F35As, we've got me and you,

we've got four F18s from Finland

and we've got a pair of US F15s multirole.

And we know we've got three tankers,

so we've got the KC46, a MRTT and an A400.

So plenty of gas out there.

To the east, we have Russian mainland.

The mission is to deter and defend the airspace.

It's important now, more than ever,

due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

With tensions running high with Russia,

it's possible the mission will attract attention from

Putin's forces stationed nearby.

There's a lot riding on today.

It's a huge message to Russia.

There's always a likelihood the Russians may react

and move aircraft around during the time of the exercise

and try and disrupt, potentially.

The Russian aircraft threat is Su-24, Su-25s

and we've got Su-27 and 35.

They may have fallen out, well get an update on that.

It's a big moment, particularly for the Finns on the day they join NATO.

With various nations all in one big mission,

it shows unity and strength together.

It's a huge signal that we that we can defend

against potential Russian aggression.

1,700 miles south of Estonia,

Lossiemouth's 1 Squadron are flying daily operations

over Syria and Iraq,

in the ongoing fight against terror group Islamic State.

Here he comes, he's having his pre-flight packet of crisps.

There you go. Look, athlete. The athlete's diet. Absolute athlete.

Jack who is going to win? Hey?

Who is going to win at dog fighting me or Buzz? Oh, I don't know.

What the fuck, Jack?

LAUGHTER

I'm Buzz and I fly the Eurofighter Typhoon.

There's a lot of famous aviators called Buzz,

obviously Aldrin and Light year.

It's eponymous, I quite like it.

It's like Cher, or Blondie, or Adele.

I realise I've just chosen, like, three female divas.

Today me and the force commander

are going to do our point and aim with our Glock 17s.

He is in charge of the Typhoon force,

so that makes him a pretty big deal.

Question is, does he know that Buzz is a big deal?

Yeah, that's the bigger question.

Not sure he does yet.

Good to go? Let's do some shooting.

Are you a good shot?

Er, don't know, ask me again in about 45 minutes.

GUNSHOTS

The reason you're doing it, so you can fly and do what you need to do,

in case you need your pistol.

All pilots must be proficient with handguns,

in case they're shot down in enemy territory.

Ejecting over Iraq and Syria would be hostile territory,

where you know there are bad people.

So we have to prepare for the worst, so we carry a Glock 17 pistol,

with extra ammo to defend ourselves from enemy forces on the ground.

Any questions? No questions. OK, go to the three metre point.

And we'll carry cash to pay for anything we need to,

to get ourselves safely to wherever we need to go.

Draw pistols.

Three rounds in your own time.

Go on.

That is the aim of the game.

Kill the other guy before he kills you.

Definitely dead.

After flying out of Akrotiri,

Buzz's first task is to lead an intelligence gathering mission

over Syria, home to pockets of Islamic State fighters

and Russian military bases.

Defensive of counter air will be our initial mission today in Syria.

IDing anything that we need to ID.

Buzz's orders are to find and monitor the movements

of any group which could pose a threat.

This risks for us today, there will be Russian fighters out there.

It's not uncommon for Russian aircraft to get up close

and personal with UK and coalition aircraft.

Obviously it might be a bit of a shock

the first time you see a Russian fighter alongside you.

And you need to be prepared to do what you need to do.

It's a big responsibility,

with threats from enemy fighters on the ground,

as well as adversary aircraft also in the area.

Things can go wrong pretty quickly.

In the skies above Eastern Europe,

Typhoon pilot Richard is on exercise with jets from six other nations,

including NATO's newest member, Finland.

Flying jets is a dangerous job.

When you've got a lot of aircraft from

so many different nations, in a small bit of airspace,

there's always a danger that is associated with that.

Being able to train with the Finns is hugely significant.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, NATO has become more united.

Fewer than 75 miles from the Russian coast,

Richard and the other NATO jets

are flying in protective battle formations.

NATO is a defensive alliance against aggressors.

If one is attacked, we consider all to be attacked

and we will unite to defend that nation.

It's a big mission, we're here to defend NATO's airspace.

If Russia crossed the NATO border, we'll be ready

and we'll get alongside that aircraft as soon as we can.

The Russians have stayed away.

Richard and the NATO jets can return to base.

The future of Europe getting more members to NATO, more aircraft,

more assets being able to defend, can only be a great thing.

How was today? Yeah, it was good thanks, really good sortie.

You looked busy from the ground, so it must have been busier up there.

Yeah, we got airborne just behind the foreship of that F18.

We followed them up there as a pair, so me and Tim on my wing.

We had minimal fallout from the X as well, so... Excellent.

So we got all seven nations participating as planned?

Yeah, all nations are up there.

Pretty lethal from our side, which is good. Yeah.

Having the Finns just this close by its perfect. Excellent.

I love doing big exercises like that.

It's quite close to the Russian border

and it's a strong message, flying together,

especially when we're doing it well

and it'll look good on radar, look good on...surveillance.

So, it's...

You've got to be proud of that.

We've been briefed how close we are to Russia.

As in if you did the wrong Woodland Trail,

you'd probably end up crossing the border.

We are considerably close, much, much closer than,

say, a nuke hitting the UK.

I wouldn't have so much time to say goodbye.

HE CHUCKLES

I am AS1T Bremner,

and I'm a mechanical aircraft technician on Eurofighter Typhoon.

Mitch is one of 9 Squadron's most experienced Typhoon engineers.

So, that one's really stiff.

I mean, it's a little bit up to the inboard edge,

but that sides definitely quite tight.

He's been called to an issue that's been found on Richard's jet

after his flight with the Finns.

When these flying controls move, we'll get an over-torque indication,

so they're not moving correctly.

The system's fighting against itself,

which we can see in here, there's a gearbox in there that tells you

if an over-torque's happened. So it's basically, take the control off

and see where it's went wrong, through a multitude of reasons.

The slats that control the front of the wing aren't working properly.

Unable to turn safely, it's currently unfit to fly missions.

The consequences for this fault can be catastrophic.

He's basically in limp-home mode in your car.

My job is to get the jet in the air as quickly as possible

so if Russia decides to play silly buggers,

it needs to be ready to fly as soon as possible.

Yes.

I think balancing a whale on a car would be easier

than calibrating the slats on this.

Thankfully, though, they gave us instruction manuals.

The work can be tricky for the slats.

The control surfaces are all the way along the front of the wing

and to get those off, do the investigation,

put them all back together,

fingers crossed it's an easy fix.

Hopefully they'll be able to rectify it.

With one of their two jets grounded,

9 Squadron's ability to protect NATO's front line

is significantly reduced.

Currently a very tense waiting game.

We're just poking holes into the unknown

or just throwing darts with a blindfold.

Having just one plane serviceable now puts us under immense pressure

because that is us relying solely on one asset.

That does ramp up the pressure a little bit,

for the success of the mission.

Got to adapt and overcome.

Morning!

It's a nice little warm up this morning.

Brisk, but very refreshing.

Off in to work now.

1,000 miles northwest of Amari Airbase,

RAF Lossiemouth also has problems that require attention.

Yes, boysies.

Morning, Waggy. How're we doing? Yeah?

Ready for another fabulous day at work. Let's do it.

"Waggy" was given to me when I first came up

to RAF Lossiemouth.

"Uwagboe" can look quite difficult if...you're not quite confident

to try and pronounce it, so one of the guys said,

"Oh, we'll call him "waggy', let's see what he thinks of it,"

and it's gone viral!

Big strong lift.

My trade is communication infrastructure technician.

To put it simple, I'm the BT man of the RAF.

The sun's out today, but not quite the warmth yet,

not the exotic Scottish weather that I'm used to.

HE CHUCKLES

Been at Lossie coming up to 18 months now.

It took me a bit of time getting used to people's accents,

but...here I am now, I can understand it all.

Waggy and his team have been called out

to make urgent repairs to the base's communication network.

The work we do here at RAF Lossiemouth,

it's crucial to the operations

and for national security.

You've got to keep everyone connected,

whether that be the Typhoons,

the training facility, all sorts. We help everyone.

It's a little bit wet.

LAUGHTER

Think we're going to need some arm bands for this one.

Push the rod through, attach, and then pull it back. OK.

So it means you're not trying to push two things down a pipe.

You got Frosty here and Pemby.

The Three Musketeers.

Yeah, that's it keep going.

Yeah.

HE SHOUTS

There we go. Needed a real man's strength there.

Ay... Ay-ay-ay... Got it? Yeah. All good.

This bit of pit mud is just a bit more flavour to the work.

Smells right nice, doesn't it, Pembo.

Yeah, smells like garden centre. Garden centre!

For me personally, RAF was never on the cards.

I didn't grow up in a rich household.

Times were quite difficult,

so I was thinking, I need to get out of this situation.

Anyone else jumping in this one? No? OK.

Actually, it's all right.

I'm always pushing for greater and bigger things.

OK, this time, looking in, slip, slip, slip,

and step out. Use that outside leg to push yourself off.

On you go.

Throw those shots like you mean it.

Waggy recently joined RAF Lossiemouth's boxing club.

One, two.

And is gearing up for his first ever fight.

I've always wanted to fight,

but this is now my opportunity

to put it all in and go for the win.

The prestigious RAF boxing championships

are just one week away.

He only started training with us two months ago.

So, this has got a lot riding on it.

It's the biggest competition there is at the RAF.

I don't do boxing

because I want to be that big man that thinks that he's some top dog.

Get that elbow nice and high.

Time!

I do it because of my own, kind of, mindset.

I don't allow the fact that if there's not much money in the pot

from when I was a kid, that should be a reason why

I shouldn't achieve great things.

As you can see, a lot of greens in this diet!

Greens are good.

Oh, yeah!

The character that I have today,

a lot of it was shaped from my parents...

...and I feel like this has been built in me,

it's part of my DNA now.

My mother's from Ukraine.

I was born there myself.

My mum and Dad met when my dad had a stall

inside a big market

and my mum worked at that market at the time.

Their love blossomed from there, I guess!

Meal of the champions, that.

Meal for the champion.

Oh, yeah!

Ukraine, it's dearly in my heart, it really is.

When we saw on the news that there was an invasion in Ukraine,

of course the first thought was, we have family over there.

My parents are proud of me being in the RAF,

helping towards a country I was born in,

I have roots to as well.

Of course it's an amazing feeling.

It means a bit more to me now that

the country I was born in is under trouble

and we're able to help them.

| might be far from my mum’s home,

but work makes it feel ever so closer.

Over 2,000 miles from home,

Lossiemouth Typhoon pilot Buzz and his wing man,

are taking on more fuel before heading into Syria.

HE LAUGHS

We're providing support to ground troops on the ground

and we're helping them identify, track and if necessary,

engage enemy forces on the ground

that are threatening them or local low-flying aircraft.

Buzz has spotted something on the radar.

The one thing we absolutely do not want to do

when sent to go and identify another aircraft is escalate things.

Mistakes can be catastrophic.

It's a Russian military cargo plane.

There's definitely a sense of, I need to keep an eye on him here.

BEEPING

Buzz's wing man has a problem.

BEEPING

The incoming missile alarm is sounding.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. What do I do now?

BEEPING CONTINUES

BEEPING

In the skies over Syria, Buzz is trying to help his wing man.

BEEPING

The early warning missile targeting system,

which can tell if the jet is being shot at, is malfunctioning.

I can guarantee he absolutely shat himself when that went off.

When things start to go wrong, you can quite often fear the worst,

and that's when mistakes start getting made

and people make bad decisions.

A Russian plane is also bearing down on their position.

The "Fuck, fuck, fuck” voice is definitely going in your head.

You're transiting with live weapons on board

and there's a problem with Russian aircraft

on the edge of our airspace, in a desert, in a war zone.

BEEPING

If you start flashing around the cockpit, pressing things

that you think are going to fix things,

you can totally misdiagnose and then making it worse.

TRILLING

These jets are so complicated and so advanced,

without certain systems, they will just fall out of the sky.

He could be forced into an emergency landing

or potentially be ejecting over directly hostile territory.

Ultimately, I'm over a war zone on an operational sortie.

We're going somewhere because we really need to be there

and other people really need us to be there.

The big thing for both of us then is to think about, right,

OK, what's our contingency? Does this change what we can do now?

Do we need to go home? How does that affect the guys on the ground?

Do they need people there right now?

You have to make a lot of decisions really, really quickly.

With no way to fix the issue in the air,

Buzz makes the decision to return to base,

but not before taking one last look at the Russian aircraft.

A Russian cargo plane operating along the border

is intelligence that our guys can then take back

and work out where it's come from, where it's going,

and likely work out as well, what it's carrying.

You know, you're representing the United Kingdom on the global stage.

Things that we do out there every single day matter,

it's nice to be a part of that.

Being...a force for good, I suppose.

That's certainly the way we see ourselves

and certainly the way I see ourselves and the role that we do.

I feel 100% prepared for things if they escalate.

I don't think any of us would be here if we didn't.

Knowing that you are contributing against something

that is important...

...and bigger than just yourself.

Another exciting day over Syria. Yeah.

Saying that, I'm starving, I ran out of food well quick.

Also, didn't have a single wee.

Did you not? No, I tried, just wasn't there. Don't know why.

Smartie inbound, is he?

9 Squadron's own troublesome jet has just come back from

a test flight to see if the problem has been fixed.

# Men, Men, Manly Men, Men, Men...

# Me-e-n! #

That's us, literally, two and a half men stood around a...jet!

It could be life or death for the pilot if he has to

out-manoeuvre something

and he doesn't have that ability with the jet,

so it is important for us to focus on this task.

Full back stick, slats...

Right, unserviceable, report fault? Yes, please.

Well, it's full back stick, after every tape.

Reviewing the flight data shows the slats on the wing

are still broken and in the cockpit,

the warning system now isn't working either.

Thoughts? Got a slats caption airborne.

Then, I broke into circuit, put the gear down,

slats did not travel.

But no caption in cockpit, which is the worrying part. Yeah.

So the only indication that slats haven't travelled

is the feel through the stick and the fact that out the window,

they're still up.

There's no caption in cockpit when I was in landing phase of flight.

What's your thoughts on the aircraft itself? Get rid?

Yeah, absolutely. For me, it needs some work.

Failure to repair the jet leaves 9 Squadron

with only one Typhoon ready for action.

We tried everything we could.

We can't have a jet that's not ready to fight.

We need an aircraft out here that's ready to go.

Yeah, just wanted to give you a quick heads up.

Luck wasn't on our side today,

305 has come down with the slat caption again,

so we need to look at turning the jet swap option on.

It is absolutely key air defence and control of the air.

If you don't have control of the air,

armies will lose huge casualties.

Control of the air is essential to modern warfare.

We'd like to get it done this week.

Boss will be pushing hard to get something out

by the end of this week.

RAF Lossiemouth must now quickly send a working jet to Estonia

to help bolster NATO's front line.

Go for it! APPLAUSE

The RAF Boxing Championships.

The biggest boxing event in the RAF's calendar.

THEY GRUNT, STRAIN

THEY CHEER THEM ON

Every year, servicemen and women from across the UK,

gather for four days of competition

to crown the best boxers in the air force.

This is my first bout.

The nerves are there, but I just want to go out there

and do the best that I can do.

Show off your skills. Look and be the better boxer.

Representing RAF Lossiemouth is Waggy.

I'm ready to take on the world.

I have big ambitions because of my dad.

I think how difficult it was for my parents

to find something better to get us in a better place, really.

That spurs me on, it just brings more fire into me,

it brings more hunger.

When you're in range,

you throw those shots off and you throw them hard.

OK?

I've been passed the baton now to continue this relay,

we'll get there in the end together. HE CHUCKLES

Boxers!

APPLAUSE

Nice. Go get 'em, tiger.

In the red corner, representing RAF Lossiemouth,

Vilson Uwagboe.

I'll be honest, I was a bit nervous stepping into that ring

for the first time!

My mind is trying to fight me, tell me you can't really do this.

But you've got to face your fears.

You can't let them get the best of you.

And I like to face mine head on.

Get through to the other side.

Round one.

Keep that jab going.

Let them hands go, Waggy.

That's it, and again. Come on. Back on the end of that.

Adjust... Adjust. Adjust! Get out. Get out! Go.

Waggy's got his work cut out here. Yeah.

He's fast, and he's taller than him.

You can't let the fact that it looks quite impossible,

or it looked quite hard, for it to stop you.

Oh, wag... I know.

Seven, eight...

I know that when I was growing up, the struggles,

it brought out resilience within me.

When I'm down, I get back up.

I'm not willing to just quit.

There you go, better. Come on, Waggy. Get that jab going.

There you go. Come on, Waggy. Don't stop.

Right, last ten. Last ten, Waggy. Come on.

Don't leave anything in there.

Come on.

Ladies and gentlemen, your winner by a unanimous decision,

in the blue corner.

APPLAUSE

Come on, get yourself down. Well done, well done. Thank you.

It was difficult, it was tough...

...but...I am proud that I've been able to prove to myself today

that I CAN get in that ring.

You all right? Come here, come here.

HE CHUCKLES

You did really well. Thank you. TEARFULLY: Bawling me eyes out!

You did yourself proud, mate. I'm telling you now. Is that right?

Yeah, you did. You did us proud.

If anything, losing makes me hungrier.

I want to do another bout and get the win.

Both my parents,

I'd like to definitely make them very proud, really.

They've done well, for me,

and it's time for me to do the best I possibly can, yeah.

BELL DINGS

Today is very exciting because we're getting a new jet

because...we need it!

In less than 24 hours,

RAF Lossiemouth has sent 9 Squadron a replacement Typhoon

to help defend NATO's airspace.

The jet we were fettling, as we would call,

is a little bit broken.

The people who have got more knowledge and monies than me

get to decide the fate of that jet.

So, that's our jet arriving now. 314.

Hopefully, a well-behaved child.

Fingers crossed.

Wahey!

This is just the post-flight checks

and after-flight servicing.

Better than Kwik Fit and Halfords, that's for sure!

She'll be reet. She'll be good.

We'll make her good.

I think she's definitely a keeper.

What is it the young guys would say these days, "Swipe right"?

Swipe right on this jet.

Back home, I've got my girlfriend living in our house

with our two dogs,

and an upcoming baby boy who's due at the end of July.

I think she needs a bit of a clean on her belly.

I'm going to go get some wipes.

Five months is a long time to be away from home.

A long time eating the same food

and a long time sleeping in the same bed.

Hi, honey, how are you doing?

I'm good. How are you? I'm OK.

Just thought I'd give you a quick FaceTime

now that fucking work's calmed down a little bit.

Just got a new jet from the UK.

Do you want to see your dogs?

Oh, where are they? Hello, Millie.

I think they've forgotten who you are. Probably.

I mean, it has been, like, what, six weeks now.

Seven, isn't it?

God knows, we're getting to halfway there.

All that baby stuff to build, lovely.

How much have you bought, like?

Baby's definitely got more clothes than I have.

Fucking hell, it's got more socks than me!

Yeah... I don't know what time I'll be finishing,

but I'll give you a text through the night anyway.

Okey do key, I'm just going to take the dogs out in a bit I think.

Okey doke. Okey do key. Right, speak to you later.

Love you, bye. Love you, bye. HE BLOWS KISSES

I'm very excited to get a little one.

It will definitely give me another priority in life.

Whether I can juggle two priorities, of my job and my child

is yet to come.

However...

.we'll see.

Yeah, she's all right. She's a good jet!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media