Support continues to be given by Royal Air Force to Iraqi security forces as they maintain their efforts to prevent Islamic State elements re-establishing an operational presence in the country.
The Minsitry of Defence say that a coalition surveillance aircraft identified a terrorist truck concealed under trees in a remote area of countryside, some 40 miles east-north-east of Tikrit.
A flight of Tornado GR4s from RAF Akrotiri, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, conducted a successful attack on the vehicle using a single Paveway IV guided bomb on Wednesday 1 August.
By September 2017, the Ministry of Defence had announced that over 1,000 personnel were engaged in theatre and that the Royal Air Force had conducted around 900 airstrikes, flying over 2,200 sorties, killing 3,000 Islamic State fighters.
It was reported last year too that the Royal Air Force was operating at its most intense for 25 years in a single theatre of operation which far outstripped the UK involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan – RAF jets have dropped 11 times more bombs (1,276 strikes) on Syria and Iraq in the preceding 12 months than they had in the busiest year of action in Afghanistan a decade previously.
As of March 2017, the MoD says the operation has cost the UK taxpayers £265 million so far and that 129 Paveway IV bombs, 37 Hellfire missiles, 20 Brimstone missiles, 30 unspecified/other armaments were used in the operation against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria until that date. The numbers above are undoubtedly higher a year on.
Still getting the job done!
https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/uk-tornados-getting-cus-p-upgrades-04598/
Cost of 2 planes (mid air refueling) plus cost of missile Vs cost of a truck, bargain. People destroy trucks with petrol bombs during protests.
We really need to think about low end capability for this type of operarion and stop wasting so much of the limited budget on it.
Only if you are referring to UAVs. It’s contested air space or at least not entirely friendly. Send our men and women in with the best available, or don’t send them at all.
You don’t need best available for this mission. There is zero risk. The air space is contested with what? I haven’t read a single report of any damage to any aircraft over Iraq in years, and there would be if there was any form of air defence in the region.
Is this a piss take?
I know, right. press release for a truck. wicked job fellas…
why couldn’t they have just strafed the target by the way
seems to be that we are at the sledge hammer to swat a fly end of operations against Islamic state in Iraqi. Probably time to star considering if we could support the Iraqi governements fight in other ways.
Yes, what is worth a very serious examination is the design production and cost of these so called ‘smart’ missiles.
The cost is INSANE!!!! Realistically, every ‘insurgent’ killed by such products… could have themselves and their extended families privately educated in England and housed in Kensington and Chelsea. We as tax payers should be asking serious questions about our privately educated privileged managers of our dogs of war.
I am still surprised that we haven’t invested in the add-on package for CVR-7 unguided rockets. The package adds precision guidance to the rocket in the form of GPS and/or a laser seeker. The CVR-7 is an awesome and very accurate weapon and when compared to the likes of Hellfire is considerably cheaper. It is specifically designed for taking out personnel or light and unarmoured vehicles. If an aircraft carries the 19 round launcher with the rockets fitted with the precision guidance, this would offer significant persistence so that multiple targets can be engaged.
Strafe soft skinned targets with 30m cannon. Knocking out a Toyota or a Chevvy pick up no matter what is on the back with a missile is a sad waste of ordnance. Bring back the original Typhoon or a four gun nosed Mosquito!.