RAF turn Jedi knights during sortie on Taliban

London, Apr.21 : Britain's Royal Air Force pilots turned "Jedi Knights" on Sunday night, piloting eight Harriers bristling with hi-tech weaponry, on Taliban camps in Afghanistan.

They got the moniker because they were using new night vision goggles that made them look like something straight out of Star Wars.

The Sun quoted Squadron Leader Dave Kane, 34, as warning that: "No one can deny we have the 'Force'. We earned the call sign 'Jedi' after we were the first to trial night vision goggles enabling us to operate fully at night and creep up on the enemy."

Each pilot also had a number after the call sign, eg, "Jedi 3".

The state-of-the-art warplanes belong to the RAF's oldest squadron - Number 1 - which is based at Cottesmore, Leicesteshire.

The jets boast missiles guided by GPS and laser, ground attack rockets and bombs. A pod underneath each jet, fitted with cameras, provides reconnaissance of the target and battle areas. At night, forward-looking infrared systems are used with the pilot's all-seeing goggles.

"The Jedi name stuck and now we've adopted it as our call sign," Squadron Leader Kane said.

ANI