Asked by: Baroness Goldie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the recent participation of the RAF in intercepting Iranian drones aimed at Israel required UK military assets to be withdrawn from any other exercise or deployment.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We already have a significant presence in the region, but as a prudent measure a number of aircraft were temporarily moved from our NATO operations in Romania to bolster our existing presence. We coordinated with NATO and our Allies to ensure there was no impact to existing operations.
Asked by: Baroness Goldie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total cost to all parties of intercepting Iranian drones launched against Israel on 13 April; and what proportion of that cost was borne by the UK.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Net Additional Costs of Military Operations will be identified and reported in the Annual Report and Accounts in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Goldie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the recent interception of Iranian drones by the RAF was part of Operation Shader; if so, whether the remit of Operation Shader has been expanded; and if so, in what way.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The deployment of additional RAF aircraft to the region was authorised to intercept any attacks within range of existing missions. The remit of Op SHADER has not changed, it remains focused solely on countering Daesh.