Peter Rhodes on scary Russians, a British “death ray” and the late Queen's love of a TV school
Nato warns that within 20 years we could be at war with Russia. One of the benefits of being a babyboomer is that we cannot remember a time when Nato was not warning of war with Russia. It's what it does.
And while Putin is certainly a worry, Russia was once led by people like Nikita Khrushchev, a hands-on, headbanging hero of wartime Stalingrad. He seemed to fear nothing and once allegedly made his point at the United Nations by taking off a shoe and banging his desk, while threatening that the Soviet Union would “bury” the West. Now, that's scary.
British boffins have developed a laser-beam weapon called Dragon Fire which will zap enemy missiles, drones and aircraft. It is an accountant's dream. Shooting down a crude drone can be done now, but conventional anti-drone missiles cost millions. Each Dragon Fire pulse will cost only about £10.
