RAF jet shoots down ‘hostile drone’ in first downing of enemy aircraft since Falklands War

Unmanned craft posed a threat to coalition forces, Ministry of Defence says

(Getty Images)

A Royal Air Force Typhoon jet has shot down a “small hostile drone” over Syria, the Ministry of Defence (MoD)has said.

The MoD said the small drone “posed a threat” to coalition forces fighting Isis in the country’s south.

The 14 December incident represented the first the RAF has downed another enemy aircraft since the Falklands War in Argentina more than 40 years ago.

Defence secretary Ben Wallace said: “This strike is an impressive demonstration of the RAF’s ability to take out hostile targets in the air which pose a threat to our forces.

“We continue to do everything we can alongside our coalition partners to stamp out the terrorist threat and protect our personnel and our partners.”

The drone activity was first detected above the Al-Tanf coalition military base in Syria along the border with Iraq prompting a call to RAF Typhoons on routine patrols to investigate the area.

Despite its small size, the drone was shot down using an Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile – or Asraam. The missiles cost £200,000 each, have a range of between 12 and 15 miles and flies at three times the speed of sound.

It is the first operational air-to-air engagement conducted by an RAF Typhoon, and the first such engagement by the UK’s air force over Iraq or Syria.

The incident comes weeks after the RAF eliminated a terrorist threat in Syria using remotely operated missiles.

The engagement likely would have been a relatively close encounter, possibly with the aircrew within visual range of the drone, defence sources told the BBC.

The global coalition against Isis was formed in 2014 and claims to have liberated 8 million people across Iraq and Syria from the Islamic extremist group.