Royal Air Force Typhoon jets have provided air support to Jordanian Armed Forces during recent coalition operations targeting Islamic State in the Middle East.
Operating from RAF Akrotiri, the Typhoons were directed by Joint Terminal Attack Controllers to deliver precision air support as part of ongoing multinational efforts to counter regional instability, according to an MOD news update.
The missions form part of Operation Shader, the UK’s contribution to the global coalition against Daesh.
Jordan and the United Kingdom have been close partners in the campaign since the coalition’s formation more than a decade ago. The Jordanian Armed Forces continue to play a key role in degrading Daesh capabilities and preventing the group’s resurgence across the region, the MOD added.
A senior RAF officer, the Deputy Air Component Commander for the Middle East, said “our aviators are fully aware of the critical role they play in supporting our Jordanian allies as they carry out a difficult task in a challenging environment. Working side by side with our allies and partners in the region builds trust, understanding and ensures we are ready to tackle any threat to regional stability.”
RAF aircraft will continue to conduct armed reconnaissance and strike patrols across the region as part of the UK’s ongoing counterterrorism commitment under Operation Shader.
Typhoons are in constant use. We need to follow Germany, Spain and Italy in ordering some more, now.
100% this. A fantastic fighter jet and will be for the next couple of decades.
Good to support a solid ally like Jordan against such an evil enemy.
Akritoni is such an amazing resource and it’s benefited no end from having a permanent Typhoon detachment. The Typhoon is an amazing aircraft for these policing and support roles especially with Brimstone.
It really shows just how shockingly bad Lockheed Martin is the fact that we were able to rapidly add Storm-shadow, Pave way IV and Brimstone to Typhoon to replace Tornado and we are still waiting a decade later just to get Meteor onto F35 much less SPEAR.
We should sack of LM and just buy 75 F35 and substantially increase the Typhoon. As the USAF is now not upgrading early F35’s we should do the same with Typhoon and just out the £3 billion upgrade budget into buying new Tranche 5 airframes.
Typhoon tranche 5 teemed with F35B can meet all our requirements.
Move the tranche 2 to new reserve squadrons and keep old pilots flying longer.
Seems an excellent plan.
LM didn’t do too well with Warrior or Crowsnest either.
It now seems full block 4 might never be achieved. If the world is as dangerous as our politicians claim, we need an aircraft that works now, delivering a full range of weapons. For several more years, at least, F35B will be limited to air to air defence and dropping gravity bombs. Not good enough for a Joint Strike Aircraft. Not sure what advantages our tier 1 status in the programme brings.
That gravity bomb can be dropped from 15-20nm away from it’s target and provides all weather day/night precision strike against fixed and moving targets. 6 weapons can be dropped to 6 different targets in one pass. And can be re-targeted in flight via datalink. Its by far the most utilised weapon since it’s introduction to service in 2007 in the RAF.
Adding StormShadow, Brimstone and Paveway 4 was anything but quick. It required a very large £425M upgrade package called project Centurion back in 2018.
These articles never state the number of assets involved. Can’t help feeling that it is only two jets and that it is embarrassing for HMG to admit that it is so few.
Less than 107.
Are they refuelled by German A400Ms like the French rafales, or are they refuelled by UK A330s?
We need more, end of. In a real shooting war we will last a few weeks at best. Still. realists do not inhabit political spheres do they?