Cyprus was the likely launchpad as British fighter jets engaged and shot down drones flying in Jordanian airspace on Tuesday evening.
The British defence ministry announced that F-35 fighter jets which were operating in Jordanian airspace “shot down uncrewed aerial systems in defence of Jordan”,
This engagement, it said, “marks the first time a [Royal Air Force] F-35 has shot down a target on operations”, with the fighter jets having been supported by Typhoon jets and a Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft.
It added that the engagement took place “as part of our operation to protect British interests and allies”.
F-35 fighter jets have, according to reports, been stationed in Cyprus since last month, with six such aircraft having been deployed from the RAF’s base in Marham, in Norfolk, on the UK mainland, to Cyprus amid fears of a conflict erupting in the Middle East.
At the time, British newspaper The Times reported that the British government had “concerns [that] the US could attack Iran and plunge the region into a wider conflict”.
An update on UK operations in the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/0YSomfmW5U
Earlier on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had announced that he is to deploy HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer warship, and two AW159 Wildcat helicopters to Cyprus and its vicinity, to defend the British bases on the island after the Akrotiri base was hit by an Iranian-made drone on Monday.
That announcement came after British Armed Forces Minister Alistair Cairns had earlier a press conference that “any threat that emanates from Iran, that threatens our British interests, or, more importantly, the hundreds of thousands of [British] citizens in the Middle East, we will neutralise that threat, and we won’t make any apologies for it”.
He later wrote in a post on social media that “we will take whatever steps are necessary to safeguard our people and defend our national interests”.
“We stand with our allies in their lawful right to self-defence. Our focus is clear: protect life, reduce tensions, and maintain regional stability,” he wrote.
On Sunday night, Starmer had announced that his government would allow the United States to use its military bases – commonly understood to mean the Diego Garcia airbase in the Indian Ocean and the Fairford airbase in Gloucestershire, on the UK mainland – in its operations against Iran.
However, this decision was taken and announced too slowly for the liking of US President Donald Trump, who on Tuesday described the perceived delay as “shocking”.
“That island that you write about, the lease … for whatever reason, he made a lease of the island. Somebody came and took it away from him and it’s taken three or four days to work out where we can land. It would have been much more convenient landing there as opposed to flying many extra hours,” he said of the Diego Garcia base.
Of Starmer, he then said that “this is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with”.
Starmer had on Monday night sought to clarify that British bases in Cyprus are “not being used by US bombers” after the drone strike, though he did stress that the drone had not been fired “in response to any decision that we have taken”.
Instead, he said, it is believed that the drone was fired before he had made his statements on Sunday, before landing after his statements concluded.
Later, when asked why the bases in Cyprus are not being used by US forces, he said they “are not suitable”.
“It is very important that this is made clear, because [Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides] and I have been discussing that,” he said.
