Britain pulls more than half of its RAF warplanes from Iraq and Syria as number of jets fighting ISIS is cut from 14 to six
- Six RAF Typhoon jets and up to ten Reaper drones will remain in Middle East
- Move follows Donald Trump’s shock announcement to withdraw US troops
- Ageing Tornado GR4s, based in Cyprus, were due to be retired in March anyway
- Remaining Typhoons are being upgraded to deploy ground-attack weapons
Britain will pull out more than half of its warplanes operating over Iraq and Syria, it can be revealed today.
Eight RAF Tornados will be brought home next month, reducing the number of jets fighting Islamic State from 14 to six.
The move follows Donald Trump’s shock announcement to withdraw US troops from the war-ravaged region.
However, British military chiefs said they are still ready to strike against jihadis – or if Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad uses chemical weapons against his own people again.
The ageing Tornado GR4s, based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, were due to be retired in March anyway (file picture)
Six RAF Typhoon fighter jets and up to ten Reaper drones will remain in the Middle East.
A senior defence source said: ‘This in no way weakens our resolve to carry out missions against the deplorable regime.’
UK Special Forces, which are still carrying out secret missions in Syria, are also expected to leave the country when US elite forces are withdrawn.
The ageing Tornado GR4s, based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, were due to be retired in March anyway. It is understood military chiefs ruled out replacing them following Mr Trump’s exit plan.
Instead the remaining Typhoons are being upgraded so they can deploy an arsenal of ground-attack weapons including the ‘bunker-busting’ Storm Shadow and Brimstone missiles.
The RAF’s new F-35B Lightning II aircraft, which cost more than £100million each, could also be used to hit chemical stockpiles by the summer.
An RAF source said: ‘The Syrian regime needs to know we can still hit its chemical weapons capability with Storm Shadow.’
The source said the departure of the Tornados was long planned, but added that ‘anything [the US] does in the operational theatre affects us’. He said it would have ‘undoubtedly’ had an affect on discussions about air capability.
‘Don’t think just because Tornados are coming back that the fight is over’, the source added.
The US President caused shockwaves when he announced last month that he was ordering a full withdrawal of 2,000 US troops, declaring on Twitter: ‘We have won against Isis.’
The Tornado has been one of the backbones of the RAF since first entering service in 1980, carrying out both ground attack and reconnaissance roles.
The jets have been flying almost daily missions against IS since 2014 as part of Operation Shader.
An MOD spokesman said: ‘The UK remains fully committed to the fight against Daesh [IS], and the retirement of the Tornado will be not lead to a reduction in the capability of the RAF’s contribution to the global coalition.’