The rules of engagement for Quick Response Aircraft (QRA) pilots dealing with rogue aircraft are chillingly straightforward. Pilots have been told to give civilian aircraft suspected of posing a threat just two chances to turn away or land before blowing them out of the sky - hijackers, innocent passengers and all. The same pilots have even been given special psychological training to cope with the enormity of what they may be ordered to do. If the pilot of the intercepted aircraft refuses to comply with orders given by the pilot of the fighter aircraft then the use of a knife-edge manoeuvre is authorised to show the pilot of the intercepted aircraft that the intercepting fighter is armed. If this fails to elicit a response, a warning burst of gunfire is authorised (any warning burst is to be fired from such a position so as to be immediately recognised by the intercepted pilot as a warning to reinforce the order to land and not an attack). During the engagement pilots will report any manoeuvres by the intercepted rogue plane "construed as aggressive or evasive" before a decision is taken, to take it out. The procedures to be followed by Quick Response Aircraft team, are not simply academic or the stuff of training exercises. Military chiefs insist that the decision to shoot a hijacked civilian plane out of the sky to prevent a larger loss of human life and avoid "inevitable and irreparable evil" would not be taken lightly. Aggressive manoeuvres can only take place after pilots have first attempted to obtain visual confirmation of a plane's identity, by operator, aircraft type and registration number and where there is "no reasonable alternative" to the use of force. Pilots have been given special training - including counselling - to prepare them for the task of shooting down a civilian aircraft laden with passengers. They have been issued with rules of engagement detailing how they should identify, pursue and destroy aircraft displaying hostile intent.