RAF Tornado jets ready for attack role over Iraq

29 Sep 2014 01:33 PM

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that Royal Air Force jets have conducted armed reconnaissance operations over areas of Iraq.

Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 aircraft, currently deployed in Cyprus, have been flying intelligence-gathering missions over Iraq for a number of weeks.

Recently, 27 September, following the parliamentary approval given recently, in company with other aircraft from the international coalition, 2 Tornados conducted armed reconnaissance operations over areas of Iraq where terrorists threaten the civilian population.

Although on this occasion no targets were identified as requiring immediate air attack by our aircraft, the intelligence gathered by the Tornados’ highly sophisticated surveillance equipment 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.

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