Breaking news
British Tornado GR4 hits ISIS mortar position near Mosul with MBDA Brimstone missile.
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World
Defense & Security News - United Kingdom |
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| British Tornado GR4 hits ISIS mortar position near Mosul with MBDA Brimstone missile | |||
On the morning of
Friday 6 February, an RAF Tornado GR4 patrol worked closely with a coalition
surveillance platform to provide overwatch for Kurdish peshmerga, who
were engaged in close combat with ISIL – also known as Da’ish
– terrorists near Mosul. When an ISIL mortar position opened fire
on the pehsmerga, the GR4s were able to respond with a Brimstone missile
which scored a direct hit.
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 RAF's
Tornado GR4 carrying Brimstone missiles under its fuselage |
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Early
on Saturday morning, another Tornado pair patrolled western Iraq, near
Al Qa’im, close to the Syrian border. Two heavily armed ISIL trucks
were identified and attacked with Brimstone missiles. The GR4s also located
an ISIL armoured personnel carrier and conducted a further Brimstone attack;
initial analysis indicates that all three vehicles were destroyed.
An armed reconnaissance patrol by a Reaper on Monday
morning over western Iraq spotted a checkpoint manned by ISIL, denying
the local population any freedom of movement. Having checked the area
for any risk to civilians, the Reaper’s crew attacked the checkpoint
with a Hellfire missile. “The coalition needs our help, in particular
with the vital work being done in terms of air strikes. Britain has
unique assets that no other coalition ally can contribute: the Brimstone
precision missile, which minimizes the risk of civilian casualties and
which even the United States does not have; we have our unique surveillance
and intelligence capabilities; and we have our highly professional forces,
which are well used to working with their US counterparts." |
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