RAF guarded Cyprus in case Moscow hit back

BRITISH military chiefs were so concerned about Russian retaliation during the missile strikes on Syria that two fighter jets were kept back to guard the RAF base in Cyprus, the Daily Mail can reveal.

As RAF Tornados flew to help launch cruise missiles against the Assad regime, two Typhoon fighters stayed behind, poised on the runway at the base in Akrotiri.

Military chiefs feared Moscow could launch an immediate act of revenge and so kept the Typhoon jets at ‘high readiness’ to scramble and shoot down any incoming missiles.

Pentagon officials included the two jets in a list of assets that took part in the dramatic assault under the cover of darkness on Saturday, even though they remained at the British base.

The military operation unfolded early on Saturday morning, with British, US and French forces co-ordinating strikes on Assad’s chemical stockpiles.

At about 2am UK time, RAF warplanes helped wipe out a chemical weapons storage plant in just 120 seconds without even entering Syrian airspace.

Four British Tornado jets fired a total of eight Storm Shadow cruise missiles, each worth £750,000, at the Him Shinshar chemical weapons storage facility, 15 miles west of Homs. It was struck by a further 14 missiles fired by France and the US and razed to the ground.

The RAF Tornados were protected by a further two Typhoon fighter jets that flew to an area north of Cyprus designated as a ‘firing box’.

A total of three suspected chemical weapons facilities were hit by 105 missiles fired from warplanes and jets from the three allies.

The other two facilities were the Barzah research and development centre in greater Damascus, which was hit by 76 US missiles, and the Him Shinshar chemical weapons bunker facility – four miles from the storage facility – which was hit by seven missiles from France.

The operation was set in motion at 10.30pm on Friday in a telephone call between Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and his counterparts in Paris and Washington DC. He then informed the Prime Minister that the mission would soon be under way.

At about 1am four Tornado jets and two Typhoon jets took off from RAF Akrotiri. They landed back at around 2.15am. Russia did not use its missile defence system to fire back, despite claims that it had shot down weapons in response.

Syria fired 40 surface-to-air missiles but none of them hit the incoming missiles and most of them were fired after the last Syrian target was already destroyed.

Donald Trump gave the first warning of the attack on Wednesday when he tweeted that Russia should ‘ get ready’ because ‘ nice and new and smart’ missiles would be coming. On Thursday Theresa May held a Cabinet meeting where she made the case for action against Bashar al-Assad.

During the meeting Mr Williamson talked the Cabinet through

‘Set Assad’s stockpiles back many years’

the procedure and the efforts gone into minimising the risk of civilian casualties and protecting troops.

On Friday Mrs May travelled to Chequers, where at about 11pm she filmed a video message announcing she had approved the raids. She then called Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Vince Cable, and former prime ministers David Cameron and Sir John Major.

Mrs May’s video message was broadcast at 2.10am on Saturday, just after she received a call confirming RAF jets were back on the ground and safe. She was back at her desk in No 10 before 7am.

Pictures released by the Ministry of Defence showed the tense final preparations at Akrotiri before the operation was launched. One image showed a Flight Lieutenant carrying a pistol holster and inspecting a missile attached to the wing of one of the Tornados.

Each Tornado was flown by a twoman crew drawn from the RAF’s 31 Squadron, nicknamed the Gold Stars. These personnel form part of 903 Expeditionary Air Wing based at Akrotiri. Crews have been conducting air strikes on Islamic State in Iraq and Syria since 2015. It is understood that all eight British missiles found their targets.

Defence sources said early indications pointed to a strike that had set President Assad’s chemical weapons stockpiles and facilities back ‘many years’.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Dana White said the target choices were ‘very methodical’. She said it was a ‘deliberate decision’ to go after chemical weapons facilities.