The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that when the last Tornado GR4s and VC10 tanker aircraft returned to the United Kingdom from the Middle East earlier this month, the event marked the end of 18 years of combat operations for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Persian Gulf region.
“As the backbone of the RAF’s offensive capability in Iraq for almost two decades, the Tornado Force has much to be proud of, and I am honored to be the Commander of a Force that has delivered in spades, often in arduous conditions, over such a prolonged period,” Group Captain Colin Basnett, Tornado GR Force Commander and Station Commander, RAF Marham, said. “The 31 May 2009 will be remembered as a significant day in the history of the Royal Air Force when Tornado operations in Iraq come to an end,” he added.
The Tornados from XIII Squadron arrived home at RAF Marham in Norfolk while the VC10s from 101 Squadron, who provided air-to-air refueling for the Tornados all the way back from the Middle East, came home to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
Earlier crews from the squadrons and other members of 901 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW) and 83 Expeditionary Air Group (EAG) deployed on Operation TELIC marked the end of U.K. Combat Air Operations in the Gulf theatre during a sunset ceremony at an airbase in the Middle East.
As the sun went down on Sunday 31 May 2009, U.K. Service personnel stood shoulder-to-shoulder with invited senior coalition members to celebrate this milestone in the history of U.K. Combat Air Operations, MoD said.
As a mark of respect, Squadron Leader Martin Balshaw, Commanding Officer of the Hercules C-130 detachment at 901 EAW, read out the names of the 35 RAF and Royal Auxiliary Air Force personnel who have given their lives whilst serving their country on Iraq-related operations since 1990.
Following a two-minute silence a Tornado GR4 flew over the assembled company to mark the end of the ceremony.
RAF squadrons, in various forms, have been based in the region since August 1990, when a week after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait the UK sent 50 Tornados and 12 Jaguar aircraft to the area.
After the first Gulf War, they patrolled no-fly zones over Iraq and monitored activity on the ground. During the second Iraq conflict, the squadrons supported troops on the ground and bombed enemy installations.
Missions flown by Tornado GR4 crews flying in the Middle East include close air support, reconnaissance, airborne forward air control and strike co-ordination armed response, MoD said. A typical mission over Iraq lasted eight hours, and involved loitering on station for up to six hours, interspersed with air-to-air refueling provided by 101 Squadron VC10s.
The Tornado Force is already prepared to assume responsibility for the delivery of air power in Afghanistan when it replaces the Harrier Force in the summer, MoD said.
While the return of the Tornados from the Middle East marks the end of combat operations for the RAF over Iraq there are still some support and logistic elements remaining in the area of operations while the British draw down of forces and equipment continues.