Spetsnaz in London?

Check this article out. Are these Spetsnaz posing as police in London armed to the teeth and wearing masks?

www.dailymail.co.uk...

Now I suppose it could be a scene for an upcoming movie.

www.dreadcentral.com...

Or perhaps the world is a stage?

Is it possible that Spetsnaz held a mock terrorism drill posed as police in London and it played out to the favor of the police in order to win public support and hearts and minds as a prelude to the Olympics? Surface to Air Missiles? As unarmed as London is, I am truly sorry. London is the true police state.

reply to post by thehoneycomb


One has to ask, did you even read the article you linked?

They are clearly Police of the Metropolitan force and it even gives a detailed description of what they were up too, namely that they were dealing with that siege last week with the dude who had gas cannisters strapped to himself claiming they were a bomb.

Nothing to do with the Spetnaz. Even if it was, do you not think someone would do something about foreign special forces running around central London?

Since they are coming to the US (Russians) to practice god knows what with our military and police....maybe it's a world tour?



So..it's probably not them according to the other poster...no world tour...US are the only lucky ones.

Originally posted by thehoneycomb
Is it possible that Spetsnaz held a mock terrorism drill posed as police in London and it played out to the favor of the police in order to win public support and hearts and minds as a prelude to the Olympics?

Nope, it was a well documented siege last week, as stated...

Originally posted by thehoneycomb
Surface to Air Missiles?

Short memory? Greece and China both had the same, what with the Olympics having a history of being targetted by terrorists etc.

Originally posted by thehoneycomb
As unarmed as London is, I am truly sorry. London is the true police state.

You clearly don't have the foggiest what a Police State is.

reply to post by stumason


Of course I read the article. But I admit, I have never been to London so no I don't have the foggiest idea. But in a metropolitan population that is for the most part unarmed. is there really a need for your police to be patrolling the streets with that kind of fire power, and concealing their faces?

reply to post by timetothink


When they come to US I expect them to be wearing US military gear and uniforms, they have been trained in all of that even to use M1 Abrahm tanks. They are also trained from a very young age to speak really good english, even without an accent (like most of America) the only two ways to tell the difference is the way they move as a unit, compared to say US Special Forces or Marines for example. That and they have broader faces for the most part.

I was wondering what Hereford thought about the second string showing up doing their job.

reply to post by cavtrooper7


LOL..not funny. But kinda though.

Originally posted by thehoneycomb
Of course I read the article. But I admit, I have never been to London so no I don't have the foggiest idea. But in a metropolitan population that is for the most part unarmed. is there really a need for your police to be patrolling the streets with that kind of fire power, and concealing their faces?

Ok...

The Police do not "patrol the streets" like that at all. That was armed Police, which account for less than 1% of the force, responding to a situation where a man claimed he had an explosive device strapped to his chest and was holding hostages.

The "concealing" faces is actually a practical thing. Those masks will be fire retardent, much like the anti-flash gear our sailors wear, to protect them from petrol bombs, explosives etc.

reply to post by stumason


The top 1%?
Kidding.

But do you really know that for sure?

reply to post by thehoneycomb


I never said anything about the "top 1%".. I just said 1%.. They're ability varies...

As of 2011, the total number of Authorised Firearms Officers in the Met stood at 2856. This is out of a total force of over 50,000. So my numbers are a little off, more like 5%....

reply to post by stumason


Ok so thats where our research begins. Unfortunately this is the only article I pulled up, but thanks to the pictures it is very telling. Were going to take a look at their firearms and see what kinda stuff they have. And what would be necessary for a London cop?

reply to post by thehoneycomb


Trust me, they are met officers. They are wearing standard issue gear for their role, they have the standard issue H&K weaponry and are even seen freely mingling with the standard Bobby, who would obviously have something to say about a mad Russian running around London dressed as a Met AFO.

The pictures themselves, unfortunately, don't show a clear shot of any of their serial numbers, although you can make out parts. There is one officer who would appear to have SO on his left arm, which could be SO19...

reply to post by stumason


Im a bit baffled as of now. Of the two first rifle loads from the back. The second has a small clip like a .22 clip, but both are carrying shotgun rounds. And as the article states the first guy has two glocks.

Here is a link with a few other photo's, clearly showing them as Met Police:

www.thisislondon.co.uk...

As for the weaponry, it is all standard issue.

Here is a link. It's basic, but gives you a starting point:
en.wikipedia.org...

I don't really know what else I can say to convince you that these are not Russians..

reply to post by stumason


Cool thanks. This article was actually the first I heard of it. I will have to watch that video. They don't cover this stuff here in America. Anyhoo the second rifle (excluding the sniper) looks like semi auto carbine, so we got that covered and yes standard issue.

My bad second picture down loads from the front. But I am still not sure what that one is.

reply to post by stumason


No, they are not standard issue. Walkie-Talkies and truncheons are 'standard' issue.

These weapons are clearly special issue, for such unusual situations such as explosives-armed hostage-taker disposal.

well the Rapier surface-to-air missiles need an appropriate compliment of soldiers to walk around them and hold machine guns while nonchalantly posing for the press.

Britain is making cuts to patrol men on the streets to instead get commandos and surface to air missiles...lol..
O....k.....