Here’s the effect of the first British air strike on ISIS in Iraq.
On Sept. 30, RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft from RAF Akrotiri airbase, Cyprus, attacked ISIS positions in northwestern Iraq.
The two planes, were flying an armed reconnaissance mission when they were tasked to support Kurdish troops who were under attack from ISIS terrorists.
During the second strike, the British “Tonkas” destroyed a “technical” (armed pick-up truck) with a Brimstone missile.
The Brimstone, is a fire-and-forget anti-armour missile, first fielded during 2008 after an urgent operational requirement, used on the RAF’s Harriers during operations over Afghanistan, that became the RAF weapons of choice during in the Air War over Libya.
The Tornado GR4, that didnt’ carry the Brimstone on their very first armed patrol over Iraq, carry a mixed load out with a single rack of three Brimstones and two Paveway IV 226kg bombs along with the Rafael Litening III targeting pod.
Optimized for use against fast moving platforms, these small guided missiles feature a warhead of 9 kg and have a range of 7.5 miles. They use a millimeter wave (mmW) radar seeker with a semi-active laser (SAL) that enables final guidance to the target by either the launching platform or another plane, and are perfect to destroy a vehicle with very low collateral damage risk, and an accuracy of about 1 – 2 meters.
Two Royal Air Force Tornado GR4s performed a mission over Iraq. Although they carried some Laser Guided Bombs, the two British attack planes didn’t use them, as they did not find suitable targets.
On Sept. 27, two RAF Tornado GR4s, deployed at Akrotiri airbase, in Cyprus, performed an armed reconnaissance mission in company with other planes from the international coalition, over Iraq.
Although the British Parliament has approved an attack role for the 6 “Tonkas” currently committed to Operation Shader and limited until yesterday to the reconnaissance role, the two attack jets which flew over Iraq earlier today did not drop any bomb on ground targets, as no “appropriate target” was identified.
The RAF Tornado jets, supported by a Voyager tanker, carried three Paveway IV LGBs (Laser Guided Bombs) and a Litening III pod that enabled the aircraft to gather intelligence that, according to the UK MoD “will be invaluable to the Iraqi authorities and their coalition partners in developing the best possible understanding of ISIL’s disposition and help acquire potential targets for future operations, either by aircraft or Iraqi ground forces.”
Image credit: RAF / Crown Copyright, Corporal Mike Jones/MOD
In the following days, more details about the Cyprus incident emerged.
Journalist Andrew Potter talked to the British MoD spokeperson who said: “The MOD can confirm that Typhoon Air Defence Aircraft were launched from RAF Akrotiri yesterday to investigate unidentified aircraft over the Eastern Mediterranean; the aircraft were flying legally in international airspace; no intercept was required.”
On Sept. 8, The Sunday People / Sunday Mirror revealed that Syrian Su-24 Fencers were actually involved.
“RAF Typhoon fighters won a mid-air showdown with two Syrian warplanes heading towards Britain’s main base in Cyprus, the Sunday People can reveal. The dramatic confrontation came after President Bashar al-Assad’s air chiefs sent two Russian-made Sukhoi Su-24s to probe our air defences. The Syrian bombers refused to respond to repeated attempts by the control tower at the UK’s Akrotiri air base to contact them.”
RAF Typhoons from the XI Sqn in QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) duty on the island, were scrambled before the Su-24s, that were flying in international airspace and were spotted by a flying E-3D AWACS could enter the 14-mile air exclusion zone. Otherwise, they would have been intercepted and identificated, and eventually escorted out of the restricted airspace.
Buzzing the enemy airspace to test its reaction time or actively disturbing the enemy training activities is not rare.
Two Typhoon fighter jets on delivery to the Royal Saudi Air Force made a quick stopover in Malta International Airport.
The pair of two-seater aircraft, carrying both the Saudi codes “319” and “320” and the UK ones “ZK088” and “ZK089” arrived at Luqa on Sept. 5 and departed on Sept. 6 for Akrotiri, Cyprus (where probably someone may have mistaken them for British Typhoons deploying to the the island strategically located about 200 km off Syria to strengthen the RAF presence there).
The images of the two brand new planes arriving and departing from Malta were taken by The Aviationist’s contributor, photographer Estelle Calleja.
As happened in 2011, in the weeks that preceded the kick off of Operation Odyssey Dawn against Gaddafi, airborne surveillance platforms are amassing around Syria.
According to Air Cosmos, two French Navy Atlantique II aircraft were moved to RAF Akrotiri, in Cyprus, where they have joined the two E-3D AWACS and the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets that London has detached in the Eastern Mediterranean sea to provide the air defense of the small island located just 200 km off the Syrian coasts.
The Atlantique maritime patrol aircraft are SIGINT (Signal Intelligence) assets that have been extensively used in Mali, during Operation Serval operating from Dakar, in Senegal. They will be used to eavesdrop Syrian communications and signals to have a better understanding of what is happening in the country.
In the meanwhile USS Nimitz is heading towards the Red Sea.
By the way, on Sept. 2, the WC-135 Constant Phoenix sniffer monitored as it flew eastward on Aug. 28, was heard flying back to the U.S. via the Mediterranean Sea and Malta. Was it used to collect evidence of the Syrian chemical attack?
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