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LONDON - British Royal Air Force Typhoon jets policing the Libyan no-fly zone will be switched to ground-attack missions by early next week, the government has announced.
The new role not only will likely see the fighter use its air-to-ground weapons in aggression for the first time, it will be the first time Typhoons have fired any weapons in either air-to-air or air-to-ground roles.
Foreign Secretary William Hague announced the intended role change in a statement April 6 updating Parliament on the Libyan situation. Hague said that since March 31, a total of 701 sorties and 276 strikes sorties had been conducted by the air forces deployed over Libya.
On April 5, British Tornado GR4's destroyed six armored fighting vehicles and six main battle tanks using Raytheon Paveway IV and MBDA Brimstone weapons, he said.
Four of the six Typhoons operating under NATO command from the Gioia del Colle base in Italy are being given the new role.
On April 5, the government announced the RAF was sending a further four Tornado strike aircraft to bolster the GRA fleet already in the region. The RAF has 16 ground-attack aircraft under NATO command and another four fast jets in southern Italy under U.K. command on standby to support operations.
With Tornado aircraft also deployed in Afghanistan, RAF assets are being stretched tight at a time when the Air Force has had to reduce capabilities as part of large-scale defense cuts ordered by the coalition government.
The RAF is also deploying a number of support and reconnaissance aircraft over Libya.
A spokesperson for the RAF said the Typhoon aircraft would likely be operational in their new role by April 11, once missile stocks and suitably qualified pilots for the ground-attack duties had been deployed.
For the time being, the Typhoon is only cleared to use various types of Paveway precision-guided bombs in the ground-attack role. It was recently cleared to use the new Paveway IV weapon.
The decision to switch the bulk of the Typhoons deployed on Libyan duties to ground attack has left the RAF scrambling to provide sufficient pilots to sustain the effort. Six ground-attack pilots will initially deploy to Gioia. The RAF is ramping up its output of qualified crew from its Typhoon operational conversion unit to provide sufficient pilots to sustain the effort by the end of this month.
The National Audit Office, the government finance watchdog, recently criticized the RAF for having only eight qualified ground-attack pilots on Typhoons.
Until now, the Typhoon has only been used in the air-to-air role in Libya and as a quick-reaction alert force in the U.K. and the Falkland Islands.
The new role not only will likely see the fighter use its air-to-ground weapons in aggression for the first time, it will be the first time Typhoons have fired any weapons in either air-to-air or air-to-ground roles.
Foreign Secretary William Hague announced the intended role change in a statement April 6 updating Parliament on the Libyan situation. Hague said that since March 31, a total of 701 sorties and 276 strikes sorties had been conducted by the air forces deployed over Libya.
On April 5, British Tornado GR4's destroyed six armored fighting vehicles and six main battle tanks using Raytheon Paveway IV and MBDA Brimstone weapons, he said.
Four of the six Typhoons operating under NATO command from the Gioia del Colle base in Italy are being given the new role.
On April 5, the government announced the RAF was sending a further four Tornado strike aircraft to bolster the GRA fleet already in the region. The RAF has 16 ground-attack aircraft under NATO command and another four fast jets in southern Italy under U.K. command on standby to support operations.
With Tornado aircraft also deployed in Afghanistan, RAF assets are being stretched tight at a time when the Air Force has had to reduce capabilities as part of large-scale defense cuts ordered by the coalition government.
The RAF is also deploying a number of support and reconnaissance aircraft over Libya.
A spokesperson for the RAF said the Typhoon aircraft would likely be operational in their new role by April 11, once missile stocks and suitably qualified pilots for the ground-attack duties had been deployed.
For the time being, the Typhoon is only cleared to use various types of Paveway precision-guided bombs in the ground-attack role. It was recently cleared to use the new Paveway IV weapon.
The decision to switch the bulk of the Typhoons deployed on Libyan duties to ground attack has left the RAF scrambling to provide sufficient pilots to sustain the effort. Six ground-attack pilots will initially deploy to Gioia. The RAF is ramping up its output of qualified crew from its Typhoon operational conversion unit to provide sufficient pilots to sustain the effort by the end of this month.
The National Audit Office, the government finance watchdog, recently criticized the RAF for having only eight qualified ground-attack pilots on Typhoons.
Until now, the Typhoon has only been used in the air-to-air role in Libya and as a quick-reaction alert force in the U.K. and the Falkland Islands.
