At the height of the Cold War, the Royal Air Force was more powerful and better equipped than it had ever been before. It needed to be. The nation relied on it both for its nuclear deterrent and to protect it from a Soviet strike.

This was the era of QRA - Quick Reaction Alert. Lethally fast Lightning interceptors stood ready around the clock to challenge Soviet bomber fleets out over the North Sea, while the Vulcan, Victor and Valiant bombers of Britain¹s V-Force could be scrambled in a matter of minutes to deliver their nuclear payload deep behind the Iron Curtain.

Packed with rare and never before available footage, this video profiles the aircraft that made the Royal Air Force of the Cold War era such a formidable fighting force - the incredible V-Bombers, the Lightning Interceptor, the Canberra, Hawker Hunter, Phantom and later the Harrier.

It also looks at the training fleet of Jet Provosts, Gnats and Hunter T7¹s and the failure of the revolutionary TSR2 project.

Highlights include the last taxi of Vulcan XH558 before it went into refurbishment, new footage of Vulcans and Valiants in America, 74 squadron taking delivery of the first operational Lightnings, air-to-air film of Vulcans testing and launching Skybolt, two Lightnings air-to-air refuelling simultaneously, newly found material of RAF Transport Command Comets, a Phantom QRA, early Harrier operations in Germany and air-to-air and in-cockpit footage of Jet Provosts training new pilots in the 1960s.

There are also exclusive interviews with Lightning, Valiant, Vulcan, Victor, Harrier and Buccaneer pilots and crew.