OK, who's been winding up the Times.....
The Times: German authorities call on Awacs to counter hooligans
SUCH is the fear of violence at next year's World Cup finals that the German Government will ask Nato if it can borrow a squadron of early-warning spy aircraft to monitor the movement of potential hooligans. The E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (Awacs) is a high-flying specialist surveillance aircraft designed to bolster air defences, but next summer it will be used to follow football fans around Germany.
As it borders nine nations, Germany is particularly vulnerable to an influx of hooligans during the World Cup, and the tournament's organisers are taking no chances. As part of a raft of measures designed to ensure that the eighteenth World Cup passes off peacefully, Germany's Interior Ministry will take the extraordinary step of asking Nato for the use of several of its Awacs for the duration of the tournament.
Using radar technology, Awacs has the capability to detect aircraft over 400 kilometres and such a precise surveillance system can also be used to provide an astonishingly detailed picture of human movement on the ground. With the ability to pick out an individual's features from long distances, the aircraft will be used to identify known hooligans and provide police with an early warning against outbreaks of violence........
