12 May 16. Iraq and Syria: OP SHADER. On 4 May 16 a Reaper destroyed a truck bomb with a Hellfire missile while Typhoons and Tornados used
Paveway IV guided bombs to attack a number of Daesh positions in Western and Northern Iraq. The following day Tornados, supporting Iraqi and Kurdish operations, struck a terrorist group near Mosul and Typhoons hit a tunnel and mortar team near Fallujah. Tornados and Typhoons, using Brimstone and Paveways interdicted the movement of ammunition on the Euphrates on 6 May 16, in addition to striking a number of targets around
Mosul and Fallujah. On 8 May 16, Typhoons hit rocket launchers and three stockpiles of weaponry with Paveway bombs South of Fallujah. (MoD, 9 May 16.)
“The UK has been a long standing supporter of the moderate opposition in Syria….We have delivered over £4m of life-saving equipment including communications, medical and logistics equipment. We have also
provided equipment to protect against chemical weapons attacks”. (Written Answer (WA), 11 May 16.)
The Government’s support to Iraq includes “over 250 personnel who have provided training to more than 13,000 members of the Iraqi Security Forces”. (WA, 12 May 16.)
Comment: On 6 May 16, Sir John Chilcot wrote to the Prime Minister proposing to publish the long-awaited report of the Inquiry into the invasion of Iraq on 6 July 16. The 2.6 million-word report is to be published without the need for redactions to appear in the text. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 16/19, 16 May 16)
13 May 16. House of Lords’ Report: OP SOPHIA. The European Union Committee of the House of Lords published (13 May 16) Operation Sophia, the EU’s naval mission in the Mediterranean: an impossible challenge. While applauding the success of the mission “in saving thousands of lives at sea”, the Committee concludes that the Operation has failed to deter the flow of migrants “in any meaningful way”. Citing the weakness of the Libyan state as a key factor, the Committee is not confident that the Libyan Government of National Accord will be in a position to work closely with the EU “any time soon”. In response a Government spokesperson said that the UK is working with allies and partners in the EU “to move the Operation on the next phase”, adding that HMS ENTERPRISE’s deployment had been extended and the Government would “assess what other ships we could offer”.
Comment: The EU naval mission EUNAVFORMED, aimed at stemming the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean, was launched on 22 Jun 15. On 28 Sep 15, the mission was renamed OP SOPHIA. The report found that, since the start of EU naval operations, over 50 smugglers have been arrested. However, the arrests did not involve key figures within the people smuggling networks. Some 80 smuggling vessels have also been
destroyed but this had resulted in the smugglers changing tactics. The report, published as HL Paper 144, is accessible via the parliament website (http://www.parliament.uk). (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 16/19, 16 May 16)
12 May 16. Baltic Air Policing (BAP): Russian Aircraft Intercepted. The MoD reported (12 May 16) that RAF Typhoon aircraft have made their first intercept of Russian aircraft during the UK’s current BAP deployment. Three military transport aircraft (an AN-26 Curl, an AN-12 Cub and an IL-76 Candid) were intercepted because they were not transmitting a recognised identification code and were unresponsive.
Comment: Four UK Typhoon aircraft from II (Army Co-operation) Squadron based at Lossiemouth, joined the NATO BAP mission in April. (See also DNA Issue 16/17 dated 2 May 16.) The mission, flying from the Ämari Air Base in Estonia, is supported by elements from across the RAF, deploying as 140 Expeditionary Air Wing. (Source: DNA DEFENCE NEWS ANALYSIS, Issue 16/19, 16 May 16)
11 May 16. Northern Ireland: Terrorist Threat Level Increased. In a Written Statement (11 May 16) the Home Secretary confirmed that the threat level to Grea