Air Power 2017

46 AIR POWER 2017

21 ST CENTURY PARTNERSHIPS

21 ST CENTURY PARTNERSHIPS

Air Commodore Johnny Stringer, Air Component Commander –

83 Expeditionary Air Group, explains the Royal Air Force’s contribution

to the counter-terrorism efforts in Iraq and Syria and shows how a mix

of manned and unmanned platforms is helping with this crucial effort

IRAQ AND SYRIA:

SEIZING THE INITIATIVE

I

f 2015 was the year in which Daesh’s territorial

gains and ambitions were checked, the

period from early 2016 to the present may

well be seen as when its ultimate defeat was

established. Throughout this period, the front-

line squadrons of the Royal Air Force (RAF) have

been at the forefront of the coalition’s military

campaign – a coalition now comprising more than

60 nations, assembled under the command of the

Combined Joint Task Force and with an impressive

air component that has been key to its success.

Autumn 2017 will mark three years of air and

joint campaigning on Operation Shader – the United

Kingdom’s contribution to the coalition Operation

Inherent Resolve. From bases in Crete, Cyprus and across

the Middle East, the RAF’s intelligence, surveillance

and reconnaissance (ISR), fast-jet, air-transport and

air-refuelling forces have provided an unbroken

operational contribution. For many, their

The RAF’s Sentinel

R1 ISR aircraft are

helping to supply as

much as 25% of the

key stand-off radar

imagery used to

target hostile forces

in Iraq and Syria

(PHOTO: © CROWN

COPYRIGHT)

contribution goes back more than 25 years to

the First Gulf War. For the Reaper Squadrons,

their operations are conducted from bases in the

UK and United States, with a small Launch and

Recovery Element forward in the Gulf region.

Many airmen and women have served more than

one tour, flying, engineering, exploiting intelligence

product (also in part done from the UK) or otherwise

supporting the fight against Daesh. Home bases have

been exceptionally busy generating and sustaining

their squadrons, and, in all of this, support from our

families has been unstinting. All are united by the

need to defeat the amoral evil represented by Daesh.

I can only hope to give a flavour of the RAF’s

operational contribution; the small vignettes and

statistics that provide a sense of the whole. It has been

one of the most challenging tactical, operational and

strategic environments that any of us serving in this

campaign can recall, featuring: missions in the same