The Berwickshire Gazette in Scotland recently published a report of two constables running radar along the London trunk road between Oldhamstocks and Grantshouse.

The officers, using a hand-held radar gun were looking for unwary speeders. Aiming the radar at a vehicle on the top of a rise far ahead, the constables were amazed to see the radar gun register the equivalent of more than 300 miles per hour. Seconds later the radar gun jammed and could not be reset.

The officers returned to their station and exchanged the jammed radar gun for another, then returned to their patrol duties on the coastal highway. According to The Gazette’s report, here is what really happened to the two constables that Sunday afternoon:

The vehicle the radar gun locked onto was actually a low-flying NATO Tornado jet aircraft which was participating in exercises along the east coast of southern Scotland over the North Sea.

The police radar gun’s signal was detected by the jet’s on-board tactical computer which read the police radar as a "hostile signal." The fighter jet’s computer responded by sending a "jamming signal."

As part of the Tornado’s defensive system the jet simultaneously armed a Sidewinder air-to-ground missile and prepared to launch the weapon against the perceived "hostile." The Sidewinder has the capability of reducing these two constables to little more than a smear on the highway.

I’m happy to report that, in this case, the good guys won out. The Dutch pilot flying the NATO jet sensed something wasn’t right and overrode the launch command, thereby disarming the soon-to-be launched missile. The constables never knew how close they came to being vaporized.

The RAF Liaison Office in London, the Chief Constable’s Office of the Lothian and Border Police Force in Scotland, and NATO officials in Berlin declined to comment on the Sunday afternoon adventure of these two Scottish lawmen.