RAF LOSSIEMOUTH CREWS were in action for the first time over Syria at the weekend following the deployment of six Typhoon aircraft from the Moray base.
Just hours after the UK Government paved the way for military action against IS at their main bases in Syria, two Typhoons deployed to RAF Akrotiri joined Tornado GR4’s in a series of strikes at IS-controlled oil facilities at Omar.
Immediately after their first action, air and ground crews deployed from the Moray base received a visit by Defence Secretary Michael Hammond at the Cypriot base, where he thanked personnel for the commitment to striking at the terrorist threat in Syria and Iraq.
Mr Hammond told around 200 personnel at RAF Akrotiri: “Last night we saw the RAF Typhoons, which have only just arrived here from Scotland, striking successfully for the first time within 24 hours or so of their arrival, which is a pretty impressive achievement.
“Last night saw the full force of the RAF. This is a very real threat to us in Britain – and it derives from Syria. You are now able to hit the Daesh on both sides of that border – Syria and in Iraq, and you are able to hit them harder.
“That’s why we have doubled the strike force available to you. This campaign is not going to be short or simple. We face a new kind of enemy that makes no demands, takes no hostages, doesn’t want to negotiate.”