Voyager tankers continue to launch from RAF Akrotiri on the island of Cyprus to support sorties against terrorist group Daesh.
RAF Akrotiri is an extremely busy Permanent Joint Operating Base that supports ongoing operations in the region as well as support for the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus. It is used as a forward mounting base for overseas operations in the Middle East and for fast jet training.
Voyager tankers continue to launch from RAF Akrotiri on the island of Cyprus to support sorties against terrorist group Daesh. As you read this, a British Voyager tanker is crossing into Iraq to support allied aircraft operating in the region. pic.twitter.com/eHSttSr7Q1
— George Allison (@geoallison) February 9, 2023
Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace was quoted as saying last year:
“The British Armed Forces, alongside our Iraqi and Coalition partners, continue to root out Daesh terrorists from where they hide. The UK is committed to defeating Daesh. This operation will prevent the terrorist group and its toxic ideology from regaining a foothold in Iraq and reduce its capability to coordinate attacks around the world.”
In June 2021, the Royal Navy deployed a carrier strike group, UK Carrier Strike Group 21, centred around the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to support anti-Daesh operations. A joint force of RAF and US Marine Corps F-35B aircraft began launching combat sorties over Syria from the aircraft carrier whilst in the eastern Mediterranean. Airstrikes were confirmed by the United States Naval Institute.
In December 2021, an RAF Typhoon shot down a hostile drone which posed a threat to Coalition forces at the Al-Tanf military base in Southern Syria. It was the RAF’s first air-to-air engagement in combat conducted by a Typhoon. An ASRAAM short-range air-to-air missile was used.
What is Operation Shader?
Operation Shader began on the 9th of August 2014, when the Royal Air Force began a series of humanitarian air aid drops onto Mount Sinjar in Northern Iraq.
The air drops were ordered following the genocide of the Yazidi people and other ethnic minorities by Daesh in Northern Iraq, which had led to them fleeing onto the mountainside to escape Daesh.
Following the conclusion of the aid drops, the operation quickly changed to become the UK element in the US-led coalition that began the campaign to destroy Daesh. Based out of Cyprus, the Royal Air Force continues to survey and strike targets in Iraq and Syria as part of the Global Coalition under the banner of Op SHADER.
You can read more about the operation here.
With Ukraine at the forefront of NATO’s agenda, one wonders what is going on in the world of terror and whether we should be worried. One method of reprisal by Russia is possibly turning a blind eye to certain activities by various groups in or around their spheres of influence. As this piece clearly shows the old war continues despite Ukraine.
Maurice wrote: “”With Ukraine at the forefront of NATO’s agenda, one wonders what is going on in the world of terror “” They are still at it. Only over the past few weeks we had a nurse (name of Mohammad Farooq,) caught with a pressure cooker bomb outside the maternity unit of St James in Leeds, then Army geezer Daniel Abed Khalif was arrested on charges of planting a bomb outside a army camp. (What I can’t understand is he was arrested in Aug 21 on charges of obtaining or attempting to obtain information that could be useful to a person… Read more »
Many happy memories from deployments to Akrotiri. Busy camp these day’s.
Recognised that picture straight away.and I was ESBA.
Yes, you can just make out some of the aerials beyond on the Akrotiri SLS, Salt Lake Site.
Bi toff topic but Gabriele Molinelli has a good thread on Twitter about the ‘Indo Pacific tilt’ hope someone with shadow Def Secs ear sees it.
Lol. Yes, Labour’s anti Pacific tilt rhetoric that somehow removing 2 OPV will create funds for a bigger army.
LRG (S) also suspected as for the chop too.
The carriers? Their deployments there are periodic but who knows what Healy is thinking.
The forces involved are miniscule, the tilt is primarily about trade.
Tempest and our new found relationship with Japan are my greatest concern.
Yep I have a feeling (or hope) it’s just posturing and will be dropped if Labour win. It was Boris’ idea and to a lot of people who want back into the EU he’s the anti-christ. It’s either nothing or we should be genuinely worried.
Really the U.K. doesn’t have forces to actually do much in the pacific. I do value having OPVs forward deployed around the globe though. What the U.K. could actually deploy globally isn’t much apart from carrier strike group and marines. If an area was contested it would be a tricky. It’s still more than most countries have though. I would say the best thing for the U.K. is to be able to deploy globally and secure an area. That area can be Europe or elsewhere. Without funding for 12 SSN an increase in surface fleet and bulking out the airforce… Read more »
Exactly. So, apart from their ideology and scuppering Tempest, what exactly are Labour gaining being against it?
Yes, I’m aware of all the cuts. And the similar amount by the other lot 97 to 2010, so Labour incoming going to reverse any if it? Pigs might fly.
I see it just from the movers at Brize, the flying teams are away constantly. Off on a task for a week get back have a day at home and then away again, they don’t have the bodies to fill all the jobs and retention is terrible at the moment. Yet supposedly they are overmanned. Sure its the same everywhere with the support forces.
You say we don’t have forces to do much in the Pacific – how is a CSG and up to a brigade of marines regarded as a small capability?
Echo those concerns, Healy seems to have ring fenced defence to areas near the UK and excluded some critical places like the Gulf and South Atlantic. Its not just Tempest, he appears happy to let China play in those regions where we’ve had influence!!! Perhaps it will be us next blocking sales of Typhoon parts or other weapons sales not Germany!!! AUKUS also a huge concern as that was centred around Australia being add to existing collaboration between UK and US, looks under threat.
Possibly being cynical, but with so many on the left, their long standing chip on the shoulder about “empire ” and our place in the world, may be that feeds into their mindset? UK withdraws to Europe and what will be will be elsewhere. Hello China.
Not a good idea as we should be out there setting things to benefit US, not looking to the ground saying it’s not my problem.
It will be our problem sooner or later as other state actors move in.
The business part of Healys speech is also a concern. Defence business can benefit the UK, one of the reasons we’ve gone to the US for kit is because we’ve not looked at how we can capitalise on investment in kit and turn them into products to sell and the RnD filter into civilians markets. Labour is pretty much saying they will ignore defence business opportunities outside of Europe!!!!
To be fair Tories have not really shone in this area but things had started to change, however now looks doomed.
Labour membership voted against it. The mindset is always there, beneath K Starmer supposed acceptable image.
I’m 40 so matured under Labour and started paying attention to politics at Gordon brown and there after.
What was so bad about those new Labour times that gives people such a bad view? For me things can only get better theme seemed to be true as lots of people’s lives improved from 97-2008.
What am I missing.
Not saying I’m Labour fan by the way. No discrimination here I equally dislike all of them
MS, I’m talking purely about defence beyween 97 ans 2010. Which is why I trust Labour now about as much as the current rabble.
Ok, SDR 98 was good. Shame they didn’t stick to what was set out🙈. I still think it’s a good starting point for a country of the U.K. size.
Not really, as what they said they’d do, and fund, they didn’t.
RN escorts 35 to 32, then HMS Sheffield ( or London I forget) was also cut, so down to 31. RAF Sqns cut, SSN 12 to 10. Army was ok, had 6 Armoured or Mech Bdes plus they formed 16AA out of 5 Airborne and 24th Airmobile.
Europe (including the UK) has other worries at present.
We are maxed out and I have no confidence the politicians will do anything about it. Ukraine is bleeding on our behalf, I hope we can stop it. The current Defence Review/Revisit has gone ominously quiet.
Are fighter jets and tankers the best resource for this kind of conflict?
The nimrod MR4 with storm shadow, pave way and brimstone would be useful.
Basically an aircraft that can loiter, surveillance and attack but faster than a reaper.
Obviously if the 21 nimrods had been built.
Reaper UCAV’S are a cracking bit of kit, but you still can’t beat the flexibility of a fast jet. The endurance, speed and affects they can bring is still unmatched. And CAS/Armed recon over Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan was/is incredibly complex. You definitely want to be in Typhoon or a Strike Eagle over such sparse inhospitable land. And a big fat welcoming Voyager to fill up the tanks and a friendly voice over the radio.
I agree I just wonder if one man in a fast jet the best solution.
Sensor fusion makes life much easier. And Typhoon has been very successful over Syria and Iraq for a good few years now. A large aircraft like a Nimrod you mentioned would have good endurance and could carry a large number of weapons. But it can’t do 600kts to get to a target area quickly, or re-attack a target quickly. They would also require a very large amount of engineering support. And would be a much bigger target for ground fire.
One man in a fast jet sure can make a hell of a mess of a balloon!
Off Topic looks like new order of Typhoons may be placed by Italy. UK seems to be the only partner not ordering 🙁
We will need 36+ to replace the ones they give to Ukraine.
Rishi will promise them without knowing how many we actually have.
But we will be upgrading our T2/3 Typhoons to a very high standard. More capable than our partner nations Typhoons. Even the new ones coming off the production line.
What I don’t get is why Italy doesn’t do the same. Rebuilt T1 won’t be relifed. Italy obviously thinks its economical to build new rather than upgrade. Personally I’d rather see the lines in the UK keep building new ,its embarrassing that having developed the fast jet in the 1940s UK will no longer be assembling one for around 10 years and that’s if if Tempest goes ahead. We wouldn’t accept this in shipbuilding yet it seems acceptable for military aviation, very odd.
I wouldn’t say its embarrassing. Fighter projects are immensely complex and expensive. And the current aircraft we have still have many years of service left in them. Plus today one aircraft type can do the job of 3 different aircraft from the 80’s. We are building 15% of the value of every F35 that will be built. So we are still manufacturing aircraft, just not the whole thing. And fast jet production has drop across the world compared to years gone by. Different times. F35 knowhow will bring major benefits for Tempest.
And yet every Typhoon partner will continue to assemble, some like Italy are assembling F35 and Typhoons! It’s not like those countries don’t make aircraft parts either! Tempest is an now if not a when, the next government has said it will prioritise Europe not where business opportunities arise! History shows us countries do quit international projects! We’ll need to wait an see on Tempest imo. Having worked in aerospace in the past I’m aware of uk capabilities, I also know component and sub assembly is not the same as final assembly Btw the T1 – T3 upgrade is not… Read more »
And the UK will still benefit from those Typhoon orders. Many parts are still built in the UK not least the EJ200 engines. We won’t upgrade our T1’s. It will be too expensive, and the RAF would rather fund the Radar 2 upgrade. Italy isn’t a tier 1 partner in the F35 project, so we will still benefit greatly. F35 alone supports over 20;000 jobs in the UK. We will be building parts for F35 long after Typhoon production has stopped. Let’s see what happens with Tempest. Navigating the politics and spending rounds is more critical then the technology. I… Read more »
It’s a game of wait and see. Its plausible Ukrainian may get T1s in 2 years and we new build and Tempest stays the course. If Saudi orders more Typhoons some may be built in the UK but the Saudis need to get a move on before the government changes or perhaps that’s the obstacle as they need reassuring that the new government will continue to support Typhoons.
Yes, i forgot about the long coming Saudi order for more Typhoons. That’s been on the cards for years. I do believe they would be UK assembled aircraft if/when that order happens. Unless they are eyeing up F35 instead.