Originally Posted by
Airbubba
From what I could see from various online tracking sites, significant numbers of RAF MRTT tankers, Typhoons and other aircraft like the R1 Sentinel were active in theater at the time of the attack. It is surprising to me that they weren't mentioned in the initial MoD news release.
More details from this Airforces Monthly article:
Of the eight Royal Air Force No 31 Squadron Tornado GR4s deployed to RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus under Operation Shader, four were involved in the operation. The jets are home based at RAF Marham in Norfolk and are scheduled for retirement next year.
The Tornados were among nine RAF aircraft understood to have participated in the strikes on the chemical weapon facilities on April 14. Each Tornado launched a pair of Storm Shadow cruise missiles at the Him Sinshar chemical weapons storage site, a former Syrian Arab Army missile base, around 15 miles (24km) west of Homs. The coalition believed the site was used for storage of chemical weapons or materials for their manufacture.
The Tornados, which come under the command of 903 Expeditionary Air Wing at RAF Akrotiri, were escorted by four No 6 Squadron Typhoon FGR4s that conducted force combat air patrol (FORCAP) missions. Each Typhoon was armed with two AIM-132 Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (ASRAAMs) and two AIM-120C-5 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs). The Typhoons secured the airspace over the eastern Mediterranean Sea before, during and after the Tornados launched their Storm Shadows. Voyager KC2 ZZ343 was available for aerial refuelling to keep the Typhoons airborne for almost three hours between 0330hrs and 0630hrs local time.
It is understood that prior to the raid one of four Sentinel R1 Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) aircraft of the RAF’s No 5 (Army Cooperation) Squadron was deployed to Akrotiri, arriving on April 12. Sentinel ZJ690 reportedly flew an intelligence-gathering mission in support of the operation. The images taken by its ASARS-2A sensor would have assisted identification of the Him Sinshar chemical weapons storage site and other targets destroyed by cruise missiles from allied forces. It is rumoured that ZJ690 was also used for battle damage assessment (BDA) after the strikes.
https://airforcesmonthly.keypublishi...o-back-at-war/
On the spook side, assets such as two Rivet Joints and a Combat Sent were in theater along with the usual VP and VQ P-8's and EP-3's. An RQ-4B drone out of Sigonella was on station for hours yesterday monitoring any reaction to the attacks: