British warplanes and drones have dropped £20m of bombs on Iraq since strikes restarted
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Version 0 of 1. The value of bombs dropped by British warplanes and drones on Iraq since September has likely exceeded around £20m, according to an analysis by the Independent. Since strikes began in 2014 the RAF has fired 198 Paveway IV missiles, 82 Brimstone bombs, 155 Hellfire missiles and four GBU-12 guided bombs, according to figures released by ministers. All the missiles and bombs used by British forces in Iraq are guided high-tech munitions, with some variants costing tens of thousands of pounds per unit. Such 'smart' weapons help avoid civilian casualties, though the US military has acknowledged that many have been killed. The calculations come after the revelation that British pilots embedded with other nations’ forces were conducting air strikes on Syria despite MPs voting against UK action in the country in 2013. Women walk past the rubble of a house destroyed in the accidental bombing In response to a freedom of information request from the human rights group Reprive, the Ministry of Defence disclosed that US, French and Canadian armed forces were deploying UK pilots in Syria. The Liberal Democrats, under their new leader Tim Farron, have raised concerns about the strikes. “Is it right for us to attack a sovereign country? Is it right for us to overstep a mandate that we have not been given by the electorate or government? Is it right to incite ISIS, or indeed not to incite them – but to play into their hands and be martyrs,” Mr Farron told the BBC this morning. Labour leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn also warned that the Government had to “be straight” with the public about British forces’ involvement overseas. Smoke rises after air strikes targeting Islamic State militants in Iraq British warplanes are already openly taking part in airstrikes in Iraq. Bombers conduct sorties from bases in Cyprus. The estimated cost each Paveway IV is £30,000, while a Brimestone guided bomb could set the MoD back as much as £100,000. Hellfire missiles tend to cost around £42,000 while a GBU-12 has a list price of £14,000. The figures about the numbers of missiles were released by defence minister Penny Mordaunt last week. “RAF airstrikes in Iraq commenced following the Parliamentary vote in September 2014. Since then the RAF has released 198 Paveway IV and 82 Dual Mode Brimstone precision guided munitions in Iraq from fixed wing aircraft, specifically Tornado GR4,” she said. “During the same period remotely piloted air systems, specifically Reaper MQ-9, released 155 Hellfire and four GBU-12 precision guided munitions in Iraq. These statistics are accurate up to and including 30 June 2015.” |