UK details cruise missile use in Libya campaign

The UK Ministry of Defence has disclosed new details about its use of precision-guided weapons during 2011's Libya campaign, including air- and submarine-launched cruise missiles.

"During Operation Ellamy, UK forces employed a combined total of around 80 [MBDA] Storm Shadow and [Raytheon] Tomahawk land-attack missiles," armed forces minister Andrew Robathan said in response to a parliamentary question in the House of Commons on 22 October. He declined to provide a more detailed split between use of the types, as this could "prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces".

In addition to firing Storm Shadow weapons (pictured above) during multiple sorties flown from the Royal Air Force's Marham base in Norfolk, the service's Panavia Tornado GR4s also used "around 230 Dual Mode Seeker Brimstone missiles", Robathan said. The MBDA type provided a lightweight precision-attack capability, including in urban areas.


Source: London - By Craig Hoyle – FG News - 23 October 2012

Photo: The UK Air Force Panavia Tornado GR4 Fighter Ground Aircraft and Storm-Shadow (Photo by http://a398.idata.over-blog.com)


(23.10.2012)