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World Defense & Security News - United Kingdom
 
 
British Tornado GR4 hits ISIS mortar position near Mosul with MBDA Brimstone missile
 
On the morning of Friday 6 February, an RAF Tornado GR4 patrol worked closely with a coalition surveillance platform to provide overwatch for Kurdish peshmerga, who were engaged in close combat with ISIL – also known as Da’ish – terrorists near Mosul. When an ISIL mortar position opened fire on the pehsmerga, the GR4s were able to respond with a Brimstone missile which scored a direct hit.
     
On the morning of Friday 6 February, an RAF Tornado GR4 patrol worked closely with a coalition surveillance platform to provide overwatch for Kurdish peshmerga, who were engaged in close combat with ISIL – also known as Da’ish – terrorists near Mosul. When an ISIL mortar position opened fire on the pehsmerga, the GR4s were able to respond with a Brimstone missile which scored a direct hit. RAF's Tornado GR4 carrying Brimstone missiles under its fuselage
     
Early on Saturday morning, another Tornado pair patrolled western Iraq, near Al Qa’im, close to the Syrian border. Two heavily armed ISIL trucks were identified and attacked with Brimstone missiles. The GR4s also located an ISIL armoured personnel carrier and conducted a further Brimstone attack; initial analysis indicates that all three vehicles were destroyed.

An armed reconnaissance patrol by a Reaper on Monday morning over western Iraq spotted a checkpoint manned by ISIL, denying the local population any freedom of movement. Having checked the area for any risk to civilians, the Reaper’s crew attacked the checkpoint with a Hellfire missile.

On September 26th U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron cited the MBDA's Dual Mode Brimstone as a key tool in the Royal Air Forces’ arsenal to combat ISIS:

The coalition needs our help, in particular with the vital work being done in terms of air strikes. Britain has unique assets that no other coalition ally can contribute: the Brimstone precision missile, which minimizes the risk of civilian casualties and which even the United States does not have; we have our unique surveillance and intelligence capabilities; and we have our highly professional forces, which are well used to working with their US counterparts."

MBDA's Brimstone is an air-launched anti-armour ground attack missile. Brimstone is a fully fire-and-forget system, requiring no further interaction from the launch platform or a post-launch target designator.