A British F-35B has shot down a hostile drone over Jordan, marking the first time a British F-35 has destroyed a target on operations.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the fifth-generation jet engaged and destroyed the aerial threat as part of defensive activity across the region. The sortie was supported by RAF Typhoon aircraft and a Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker.
The engagement forms part of a broader UK response to escalating attacks involving drones and missiles across the Middle East. In parallel operations, a British counter-drone unit neutralised drones in Iraqi airspace heading towards Coalition forces, while an RAF Typhoon operating with the joint UK-Qatar 12 Squadron shot down an Iranian one-way attack drone directed at Qatar using an air-to-air missile.
The use of the F-35B in a live engagement represents a milestone for the aircraft in UK service. The short take-off and vertical landing variant is operated by both the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, flying from land bases and from the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
Defence Secretary John Healey said UK forces were acting to reinforce regional defences.
“We are moving quickly to further reinforce our defensive presence in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
“I am deeply proud of the professionalism and bravery of our Armed Forces personnel who have in recent days successfully taken action across the region to protect our allies and defend British interests.”
Alongside the air operations, the UK is deploying the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon to the Eastern Mediterranean. The warship, equipped with the Sea Viper air defence system, will strengthen the UK’s ability to detect and defeat aerial threats, including drones.
Two Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters armed with Martlet missiles are also deploying, adding additional counter-drone capability.
The Ministry of Defence said the measures are aimed at protecting British personnel and interests, while supporting the collective self-defence of allies in the region.
Unfortunately, according to NL, neither Duncan nor Dragon has yet received the Sea Ceptor mod. Any takers on a wager that MoD/RN may accelerate the installation schedule, if the current dustup becomes semi-serious? There are two speeds for NATO equipment programmes: Manyana, it’s peacetime, or Oh f*ck, someone just dropped us into it.
Why would they accelerate the schedule, that wouldn’t be relevant to current events, would still take years
For these kinds of drones Sea Ceptor isn’t really needed.
T45 and A30 is for ABM defence.
The Wildcats will deal with the Shahad drones.
Really the Wildcats don’t need the T45 and could have been directed by the amount Olympus radar head using an RFA. T45 simply does both things.
Hugo,
Sorry, description not sufficiently explicit. Consider the pace of Op. Corporate, or various periods during WWII. MIC can find another gear, if sufficiently motivated.
It is quite surprising how fast things can be done if it is really, really needed because…..
When the coffers are unlocked. Its amazing what equipment is suddenly available over night. Mods that take years normally suddenly take weeks/days.
Agreed…the leisurely pace of making the work fill up the over extended timeline evaporates….
Brilliant! The air defence turns up just after the major part of the air threat has been neutralised.
I seem to recall British forces returning from the Gulf thirty five years ago passing their new desert combat boots on the road going the other way!
The British Prime Minister’s career has survived by an extremely slim margin. A drone landing a few hundred yards further on and Britain might have sustained serious casualties in Bahrain or Cyprus, casualties to service personnel, as far as we can see, entirely unprotected by ground based sir defence.
Unsurprising that recruitment and retention is so poor. Whitehall/Westminster clearly care nothing for our armed forces either at home or, most particularly, on deployment and has not cared for some considerable length of time.
America lost 6 personnel in attacks but no one is calling for Donald Trump to resign. I don’t see why Starmer would be considered any different.
We are very quick to call for heads to role in this country. Others just get on with it and accept the risks.
Calls from Democrats for President Trump to resign never cease!
The point is that U.S. casualties were sustained despite GBAD.
British servicemen in Bahrain and, quite possibly, in Cyprus have no GBAD.
Strikes against this country, ‘Little Satan’ to the frankly lunatic Iranian regime, were entirely predictable once things kicked off as ‘any fule kno’ was highly likely. Our lack of contingency planning, preparation, has been a grave dereliction of duty, incompetence in spades, at the highest level in Whitehall/Westminster.
Our servicemen survived by good fortune only. They deserve a great deal better than that from their government.
There are extensive air and missile defences around the base in Bahrain which intercepted 73 missiles and 91 drones. I’m not sure if you understand the set up in Bahrain, we have a jetty in the middle of a US navy base in a small country which is on a small island. We can’t rock up with a sea Ceptor battery to defend our jetty while THAAD and Patriot batteries are firing all around it as part of an integrated missile defence.
The base in Cyprus’s is covered primarily by Israeli air defence which Iranian weapons need to cross.
The drone which hit Cyprus’s came from Lebanon launch by non state actors.
Cyprus also has air defence systems all of which were deployed but air defences are not set up to look for remote controlled planes launched by terrorists.
So at no point are any British forces deployed anywhere without air defences.
Who is responsible for the security of those serving this country?
It is not Israel. It is not the United States. It is the British government, Whitehall/Westminster.
British GBAD should take care of ultra low level threats to our own formations. Our GBAD resources are threadbare as events have clearly demonstrated, a grave dereliction of duty.
Is it really going to take an ICBM landing in Central London for this country to wake up!
But every cloud has a silver lining.
It must, by now, be abundantly clear…after four years of ‘airfix’ drones driving a coach and horses through received air defence dogma…that ultra low level air defence has to be delegated down to troop/platoon level and equipment selected, procured to fulfil that requirement as a matter of urgency.
They’ve been calling for Trump to resign for years… It’s just his own base this time around said let’s make him resign, as No more wars in the Middle East, Forever or not and No More Wars for Israel, which turns out the IDF basically forced the yanks into the game.
Nice, but the words nut and sledgehammer spring to mind.
“We are moving quickly to further reinforce our defensive presence in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
How long gor a T45?
How many missiles do we have? and the cost trade off is crazy, may be two modern gun GBAD systems could cover the RAF base a lot cheaper than missiles and most NATO nations have them but not us along with no AWAC’s, we just go with out endlessly.
Any CDS should hold his head in shame as lack of defence at the RAF base in Cyprus, its embrassing. No wonder retention is bad. Make do amd mend is not working any longer.
T45 is there for ABM interception and to be a Lilly pad for the Wildcats.
It isn’t going to shoot £20k drones with £2m missiles.
The point being that the drones have got be downed over the sea so they don’t crash on houses/farms.
So using short range Phalanx or 30mm is fine over the sea approach, which is one side, but if the drones are approaching over land it is a different calculus.
It might shoot down a 20k drone with a 2m missile if the target is worth 5m.
It might well do that…..
But it is a threat risk calculus.
Radar coverage isn’t the problem.
Radar is not as good as AWAC’s for look down features such terrain hugging crouse missiles or very small slow drones, you can fly under rador as well. we just excuse all the gaps in equipment, and carry on with people wildly defending our clapped out military . Its a farce, a gun can shot more drones than a missile its many times cheaper holds more rounds than a aircraft and two good gun GBAD vehicles would cover the RAF base, but we have Sky Sabre not the good, poor range and expensive missile or a £ billion pound over kill Type 45,
AWACS(E3) cant spot shahid drones or anything likely to attack Cyprus. The F35 can spot them with its AESA radar as can Wildcat and T45 which is why they are all being sent.
Also flying a E3 around of the coast of Israel as its under air and missile attack is a very bad idea.
We we do not know that as have not got any, we just go with out and bluff, And E3 are old not up todate , you miss my point its a very expensive fix for a problem that just 2 GBAD gun systems gould fix
E NATO has got E3s if anyone thought it was a good idea to use them for this. It isn’t.
There is a good fixed radar head 2k up the sky on the top of Mount Olympus. It doesn’t need AAR!
Radar but definition can be flown under and its not hard when its that high up a mountain, i know where it is, guarded it a few times, would not waste an 30 plus year old E3 its not that good and very dated.
Did you think the USAF losing 3 F15Es was embarrassing?
Yes, but they can replace them, we can not even stop a prop powered drone so who is more embarrassed
And yet we shot done multiple drones in the past few days.
With very, very expensive missiles and we all know we will not have many of them, its madness when for some drones a good GBAD gun will be better, cheaper hold more ammo,
Wildcat armed with Martlet may be the world’s best defence against shahid drones and a T45 is great for ABM defence. I suspect the RAF will be much happier with this set up instead of sticking an Army Sky-sabre battery near their air base.
That might be done as well.
The problem is, what to do on the inhabited side of the island?
Greece and France are sending ships. They could do the inhabited side.
Be cheaper, better if we had modern gun GBAD, missile cost, a type 45 cost may £ 1 billion and its missile are limited, over kill for prop powered drone. As always its make do and mend, when its clearly an equipment gap no wants to admit, fix or ever talk about. And why no hardened Hangers? do every thing on the cheap and keep fingers crossed nothing happens
Yeah bring back the Tribal class 🤦♂️
If you want to let an air threat get close enough to a billion pound warship for a gun kill that’s your call mate but not many people think that’s a good idea. Guns are a last resort.
If you’re talking about a gun based system to intercept shahid drones then we have deployed several to Ukraine already. The difference being Ukraine is dry land and you can place the guns well up threat.
Akrotiri is a peninsula surrounded by water. So where are you going to put the guns?
on the dry land hence GBAD, i mean proper guns not converted machine guns , i know the base was there for months doing force protection, guns on land facing out to sea, where else did you think i’d put them? the base is on the side facing the middle east. A type 45 will have sit in front of the base or near it
Most GBAD Guns can reach 3 plus miles thats enouth to get a prop drone, and cheaper, its last ditch defence better than doing nothing or letting one hit the run way, what do think i meant?
If F35Bs are being used is the RAF looking at podded rockets for anti-drone use which i believe the USAF are? Could they carry additional 2-4 ASRAAM or 2 AMRAAM on the wing pylons as no need to be stealthy to shoot down drones? And what about adoptong the podded 25mm cannon for extra shots capacity?