Britain redeploys drones to fight Isis
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Britain is to redeploy its fleet of armed Reaper drones to Iraq to launch attacks against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) in a significant escalation of the UK’s military effort against the insurgency.
Sam Jones, Defence and Security Editor
Britain is to redeploy its fleet of armed Reaper drones to Iraq to launch attacks against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) in a significant escalation of the UK’s military effort against the insurgency.
All nine Royal Air Force Reaper drones, currently based in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and operated from RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, will be shipped to the Middle East for use against Isis in the coming weeks, according to defence secretary Michael Fallon.
Britain’s Reapers are equipped with 45kg guided air-to-surface Hellfire missiles capable of precision strikes, as well as heavier guided bombs. Their deployment will mark the first use of British armed drones outside of Afghanistan.
In a written statement to parliament on Thursday, Mr Fallon said the deployment would “add to the strike capability we are already providing with our Tornado GR4 aircraft.”
“We expect to begin Reaper operations in Iraq shortly,” Mr Fallon explained.
The UK’s current air strike operations against Isis are conducted by eight Tornado GR4 fighters, located at the RAF base at Akrotiri in Cyprus.
The Reaper drones will increase the RAF’s firepower against Isis; with the unmanned aircraft in almost continuous operation, the UK will be able to act on intelligence about targets on the ground with far greater speed.
However, given their relatively short range and slow speed it is also highly likely that the Reapers will have to be based inside Iraq, something that will raise further questions over the number of British boots on the ground.
Defence officials privately conceded this would be the case. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said that “we are not confirming or denying operation details at this stage.”
Military analysts say it would be almost impossible to operate Reapers successfully over Iraq from the RAF’s existing facilities outside of the country in Cyprus and at al-Minhad in the United Arab Emirates.
“I am sure they will be based in Iraq,” said Justin Bronk, aerospace analyst at the Royal United Services Institute – a prominent military think-tank – in London. “Whether in Balad or Erbil is another question.”
Balad – just north of Baghdad – is already home to several US drones. A further commitment of UK aircraft to the base, however, could require additional ground support – particularly given recent advances by Isis in Anbar province.
So far, Britain has only acknowledged having sent a small cadre of 12 military advisers to Erbil to advise Kurdish forces there.
US drones have already played a significant role in US operations in Iraq, according to the Pentagon, though precise details of their activities have been kept under wraps. US Reapers and the smaller Predator drones are both understood to have been deployed.
Analysts also expect a significant increase in the use of strikes by drones against Isis – particularly those aimed at assassinating its key leadership – as the campaign against the jihadi group develops.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014.
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