The British armed forces are on the highest level of alert for drone strikes after the US bombing of Iran, the Defence Secretary has confirmed
A commander told Sky’s Deborah Haynes that around 30% of Ukrainian successes in the east are thanks to British and German weapons. It was the first time they have been seen on film.
Three British rockets streaked into the sky towards Russian forces under attack in a key frontline town in eastern Ukraine.
The target was a mobile Russian command post. A Ukrainian artillery officer said it would have been hit because his soldiers never miss.
Sky News is the first to be granted permission to film a multiple-launch rocket system given to Ukraine by the UK in action during the war and to meet the soldiers operating it.
“Thanks to these weapons, we’ve carried out really high priority missions,” said the commander of the artillery unit, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.
This included hitting military bases, columns of armoured vehicles and ammunition stores.
UK and German weapons responsible for 30% of Ukraine’s success in the east
The commander said, in his opinion, around 30% of the successes achieved by Ukraine in a major counter-offensive in the east were thanks to British, as well as German, rocket launchers.
“This is one of the key factors, which influenced the Russian army not just to retreat, but to run,” the officer said, referring to the recapture in recent weeks of swathes of illegally-occupied territory across Kharkiv region and into the Donbas.
Sky News was granted exclusive access last week to soldiers operating one of six M270 Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) that Britain has given to Ukraine.
The commander and a number of his men also received training in the UK on how to operate the system.
“I want to say thank you to all officers, sergeants and instructors who took part in our training, because it was so powerful,” the officer said.
“They gave us a lot Thanks to the training, only three days after returning from England we were already carrying out missions.”
Hidden in a line of trees in the middle of sprawling fields, the dark green contraption – the size of a large pickup truck on a set of tracked wheels – was deliberately hard to find.
We were not allowed to reveal the location nor the true names of any of the soldiers we met.
Ukraine’s limited number of long-range artillery pieces make them a prime target for Russia.
But the mood among troops at their makeshift base under the trees seemed pretty relaxed.
They were just exhausted having worked through the night and into the day, conducting “fire missions” against Russian targets as part of a Ukrainian advance on the town of Lyman.
Rocket launcher doubles up as mobile home for soldiers
We met the unit on 29 September. The town was recaptured by Ukraine two days later.
One of the soldiers, who his commander named as “Ghost Rider”, showed us around the rocket launcher, which loomed over him, framed by orange-coloured autumn leaves.
It is a mobile home as much as a war machine, with the servicemen eating, sleeping and fighting from inside a cabin built at the front.
British forces stationed throughout the Middle East have been placed on heightened alert for potential drone strikes after the US airstrikes on Iran, as per Defence Secretary John Healey.
Healey has affirmed that protection of UK Armed Forces is now at “highest level” amid escalating concerns that the US action might ignite a broader conflict, as published in The Telegraph.
Since the strikes took place early Sunday morning, security measures at British bases in the Middle East have been significantly intensified, with staff preparing for the possibility of not only drone attacks but conventional rocket and missile assaults too.
The increased state of alert also comes at a time of growing worry over threats to UK bases both domestically and abroad.
On Saturday, a British national was apprehended in Cyprus under suspicion of conducting espionage on an RAF base for Iran, closely following an incident where two pro-Palestinian activists infiltrated RAF Brize Norton and caused damage to two planes, reports the Express.
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In his column for the newspaper on Sunday, Mr Healey penned: “The safety of UK personnel and bases is my top priority. Force protection is at its highest level, and we deployed additional jets this week.”
Senior defence officials are particularly cautious of the use of drones following an event where Ukrainian drones wreaked havoc on 40 Russian aircrafts –including those capable of carrying nuclear warheads– across Russia.
With the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Russia’s employment of Iranian-made Shahed drones has led to widespread power outages and significant destruction of infrastructure.
The Shahed-136’s explosive payload, originally designed to demolish buildings, can now also deliver lethal fragmentation or thermobaric blasts. Iran has recently deployed these drones against targets in Israel.
Earlier this month, Sir Keir Starmer confirmed that additional RAF jets would be dispatched to the region to enhance security. British bases in the Middle East include RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, where 14 RAF jets are currently stationed, as well as naval hubs in Bahrain and Oman and shared airbases in Qatar and the UAE.
Potential extra security measures could involve increasing armed guards, issuing live ammunition and deploying more radar systems.
The US acted independently in its strikes on Iran, and so far Iran’s threats of retaliation have been solely directed at America.
It is understood that British bases are not yet preparing for any immediate, targeted attack, but the heightened alert reflects the broad range of threats – from rockets to improvised explosive devices – that UK forces could potentially face.