Combat Debut for Typhoon/Storm Shadow Pairing
- March 17, 2021, 1:34 PM
Armed with two Storm Shadows, a Typhoon operates from RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus, where the type is deployed for operations with 903 Expeditionary Air Wing. The weapon has previously been used in the fight against Daesh by the Tornado, and in its similar Scalp EG form by French Mirage 2000Ds and Rafales flying from Jordan. (Photo: Crown Copyright/PJHQ)Royal Air Force Typhoons have used the MBDA Storm Shadow cruise missile in action for the first time, with a pair of aircraft reportedly firing four weapons at cave complexes on March 10. The network of caves, southwest of Erbil, was being used by Daesh terrorist forces.
Once the cave complex had been identified by Iraqi forces as being used by a significant number of Daesh terrorists, two RAF Typhoon FGR.Mk 4s were tasked to conduct strikes in support of ground forces from the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS). The CTS conducted surveillance of the area before the attack to confirm that there were no civilians at risk, and the Typhoon pilots exercised “their utmost care in checking there were no signs of civilians in the area before conducting the strikes.” Following the Storm Shadow mission, surveillance revealed that the “weapons were confirmed to have struck their targets precisely.”
The mission was the first of several strikes against Daesh that week. On March 11, Typhoons conducted further attacks against two additional locations, using six Paveway IV laser/GPS-guided bombs. On March 12, Typhoons struck another group of caves used by Daesh, using eight Paveway IV bombs, and two days later attacked Daesh-held caves in the same remote, mountainous area of northern Iraq, dropping six Paveway IVs.
The Royal Air Force has been conducting airstrikes under Operation Shader since Sept. 30, 2014, as part of a coalition effort to assist Iraqi Security Forces in their operations against Daesh (the so-called Islamic State). Eurofighter Typhoons augmented Panavia Tornados from December 2015, and then replaced the Tornado completely in February 2019 once the Brimstone and Storm Shadow had been integrated on Typhoon under the
Centurion program. That milestone ensured that the type was able to employ the key air-to-ground weapons previously used by the Tornado.
Current operations are aimed at preventing Daesh from re-establishing its presence in the country. The caves near Erbil were assessed to be particularly difficult targets and the Storm Shadow missile was selected as the most appropriate weapon for the task.
see:
https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-n...shadow-pairing