SYRIA

BRITISH military commanders were so concerned about Russian retaliation during the missile strikes on Syria that two RAF fighter jets were kept back at high readiness to guard the airbase in Cyprus.

As RAF Tornado GR4s flew to help launch cruise missiles against the Assad regime, two Typhoon fighters stayed behind, poised on the runway at the base in Akrotiri.

. See RAF Tornados to be withdrawn in 2019

British commanders feared Moscow could (and it remains possible) launch an immediate act of revenge and so kept the Typhoon jets at high readiness to scramble and shoot down any incoming missiles.

The Pentagon included the two jets in a list of assets that took part in the assault under the cover of darkness last Saturday, even though they remained at the British base.

The military operation unfolded early, with British, US and French forces co-ordinating extremely precise strikes on Assad’s chemical stockpiles.

At about 2am UK time, RAF warplanes helped wipe out a chemical weapons storage plant in just 120 seconds without even entering Syrian airspace.

Four British Tornado jets fired a total of eight Storm Shadow cruise missiles, each worth £750,000 at the Him Shinshar chemical weapons storage facility, 15 miles west of Homs. It was struck by a further 14 missiles fired by the French and the US and razed to the ground.

The RAF Tornados were protected by a further two Typhoon fighter jets that flew in escort to an area north of Cyprus designated as a ‘firing box’.

A total of three suspected chemical weapons facilities were hit by 105 missiles fired from warplanes and jets from the three allies.

The other facilities have been confirmed as the Barzah research and development centre in greater Damascus, which was hit by 76 US missiles, and the chemical weapons bunker facility at Him Shinshar – four miles from the storage facility – which was hit by seven missiles fired from French Mirage fighter jets. Rafale fighters from France were also involved in the operation.

RAF Tornado GR4s from Akrotiri in Cyprus launched Storm Shadow missiles at targets in Syria that has set back Assad’s chemical weapons stockpiles and facilities by many years.

The mission was set in motion at 10:30pm last Friday in a telephone call between Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and his counterparts in Paris and Washington. The Prime Minister was then informed that the mission would soon be under way.

At 1am four Tornado jets and two Typhoon jets took off from RAF Akrotiri. They returned to base safely and landed at about 2:15am. Russia did not use its missile defence system to fire back, despite claims from the Kremlin it had shot down weapons in response.

It can also be confirmed that Syria fired 40 surface-to-air missiles but none of them hit the incoming missiles and most of them were fired after the last Syrian target was already destroyed.

In a Cabinet meeting held last Thursday, the Defence Secretary talked through the procedure and the efforts made into minimising the risk of civilian casualties and protecting troops.

Theresa May travelled to Chequers on Friday, where at about 11pm she filmed a video message announcing she had approved the mission. The RAF was then duty bound to act.

Mrs May’s video message was broadcast at 2:10am on Saturday, just after she received a call confirming RAF jets were back on the ground and safe.

Images seen showed the tense final preparations at Akrotiri before the operation was launched. One showed a Flight Lieutenant carrying a pistol holder and inspecting a missile attached to the wing of the Tornados.

Each GR4 was flown by a two-man crew drawn from the RAF’s 31 Squadron, known as the Gold Stars. These airmen form part of 903 Expeditionary Air Wing based at Akrotiri. Crews have been conducting air strikes on Islamic State in Iraq and Syria since 2015. All eight British missiles found their targets.

Early indications suggest that President Assad’s chemical weapons stockpiles and facilities have been set back many years. The target choices have been described as being ‘very methodical’.

THE USE of an Astute-class submarine armed with Tomahawk missiles was ruled out in the hours leading up to the strike. Despite this, Russia was duped into launching a naval operation to find a British attack submarine that was excluded from the mission.

It was decided that the Storm Shadow cruise missiles on the RAF Tornado jets were the best assets available.

However, intelligence suggests that one kilo-class Russian hunterkiller left its position at Tartus in Syria to find the British submarine. Two Russian frigates and an anti-submarine aircraft were thought to have also been pointlessly searching for it.

The final plans drawn up for the strikes did not include a UK submarine. The Russians were simply outsmarted.