GETTY RAF Tornados will be fitted with air-to-air missiles similar to the ones onboard this Hornet

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The shocking order has been given as it emerges British ministers have warned Russia is making the situation in the Middle East “much more dangerous”. RAF jets will be armed with advanced short range air-to-air missiles and British and Nato pilots have been told to fight for their lives if they are fired upon by Vladimir Putin’s air force.

GETTY RAF Tornado pilots have been told to shoot down Russian planes

Senior defence sources said British fighters are likely to be involved in a deadly air battle with Russian aircraft sooner rather than later. Speaking to the Daily Star Sunday, a source said: “We need to protect our pilots but at the same time we’re taking a step closer to war. It will only take one plane to be shot down in an air-to-air battle and the whole landscape will change.”

The RAF Tornados will each carry up to four supersonic weapons that cost £200,000 each and are capable of blasting any aircraft out of the sky. The missiles can fly at three times the speed of sound – 2,300 miles an hour – and lock onto their targets using an infrared heat seeker.

GETTY The missiles will lock onto their targets using infrared heat sensors

Each one is filled with 22lb of high explosives and can be programmed to blow up upon impact or a certain distance from its target. Defence chiefs believe there is a real possibility a British jet could be attacked or shot down in a dogfight with a Russian pilot.

No one knows what the Russians will do next. We don’t know how they will respond if they come into contact with a Western jet. Senior defence source

RAF pilots have reportedly been told to avoid contact with Russian jets but have been warned to be prepared to fight back if fired upon. A second source said: “No one knows what the Russians will do next. We don’t know how they will respond if they come into contact with a Western jet.

“When planes are flying at supersonic speeds the airspace gets crowded very quickly. There could be a collision or a Russian pilot might be mistakenly shot down.” RAF crews have dropped more than 250 bombs on Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Iraq.

AP RAF pilots have been told to shoot down planes belonging to Vladimir Putin's Russian airforce