When Iraq invaded Kuwait the Coningsby Wing was at Akrotiri on APC handover. They were sent to Saudi to stop Saddam proceeding through Kuwait into Saudi territory. The F3 at that time was not fit for purpose with a poor RADAR and no defensive aids (no self-protection jammer (SPJ), chaff or flares). The crews that arrived were on CAP within the first few hours against a far more numerous foe and 'held the fort' until the rest of the allies turned up.
Whilst chaff/flare was fitted and the RADAR vastly improved in very short order (the mods known as Stage 1+), without a SPJ the F3 could only do DCA CAP outwith the known SAM threats. The Iraqi fighters never made it to the CAPs.
The Towed RADAR decoy (TRD) SPJ was not embodied onto the F3 until 1995, even though it flew 'sausage side' for a while in Bosnia relying on chaff/flare only (as it had done in DESERT STORM). The TRD was a world beater and even the US lagged this technology on an operational fast jet.
Once fitted with chaff, flare, TRD, a refined RADAR the F3 was very good, but when fitted with a mode 4 interrogator, AMRAAM and ASRAAM it was excellent and the aircraft it always should have been. Yes it had a small wing, yes the engines didn't like going above 50,000ft unless supersonic, but it was frighteningly quick (I did 870kts at low level with weapons fitted). It should be noted that when an F3 was tasked to do roving CAPs not a single mud-mover, helo or HVAA was lost to enemy fighters. I can remember chasing a Mig23 in the southern no fly zone that was coming after AWACS or RIVET JOINT. However, he new we were onto him and he fled back over the parallel outside of our launch success zone. If I recall correctly the closest we got to him was about 20 miles - close but no cigar!
In the second Gulf War there was no tangeable air threat as the Allies had the whole IADS locked down and the Iraqis knew it. Within a couple of weeks the F3s were done even though they could have contributed to the SEAD orbat - in a far more capable way than the GR4 could. However, there was an amount of in-house politics that lead to that decision.
That was its last hurrah. The F3 was in service for over 25 years and not one was lost in combat or QRA. Furthermore, nothing else was lost whilst on its watch as well.
LJ
PS. There were some really sh!t things about the jet and we should never have bought it in the first place - again, politics got in the way of sense as usual! However, we did the best we could with what we were given hence the often quoted US General's remark!