The F3 was the first British jet in place for Desert Shield in 1990 and went on to fly Desert Storm in 1991. It was modified quickly for 1991 but by then it had been relegated to "back-stop" CAP as it did not have a Self Protection Jammer (SPJ) and the risk of loss to SAMs over Iraq was far too great.
Even the tanker aircraft got much closer to the action than any F3! It isn't about who was first to arrive in the desert - it is what you did whilst you were there.
Iraqi F1s outran the F3 at medium altitude on the
one occasion the F3s attempted an intercept. Back-stop indeed! Lol!