DRAMATIC footage captured the moment RAF Typhoons dropped laser-guided bombs on Iraq as the UK is set to give Ukraine its “go-to” weapons for the first time.
The high-precision Paveway IV bombs – used recently to strike ISIS and Iranian terror proxies – will be delivered as part of the UK’s largest-ever tranche of military aid.
Twitter @grantshappsThe moment RAF Typhoons dropped Paveway IV bombs on ISIS targets in Iraq[/caption]
Twitter @grantshappsThe ‘recent’ operation blitzed a rocket launcher being used to fire against US, UK and other forces[/caption]
AlamyThe tried-and-tested weapons use lasers to bunt down their targets[/caption]
Costing £30,000 each, the fighter-jet launched munitions carry a payload of 500lb and can travel 30km despite weather or enemy smoke screens.
Footage released by Defence Secretary Grant Shapps shows the moment Paveway IV bombs blitzed an ISIS target in Iraq.
Shapps said that RAF Typhoons on a “recent routine Operation Shader patrol” used the bombs to destroy a rocket launcher system firing at coalition forces.
A huge explosion fills the screen as multiple bombs were dropped.
The Paveway IV are the most advanced version of Paveway family and have both GPS and laser-guidance that give them a high level of accuracy.
A laser beam is fired at the target and the bomb will look for the reflected energy of that laser spot and zero in on it.
The tried-and-tested munitions have become known as the RAF’s “go-to weapon” and will be sent as part of the UK’s new £500million Putin-pounding war chest.
The bombs also proved their skillset in January when they were used to strike Iran-backed Houthi rebel targets in Yemen.
First entering service in 2008 as part of Operation Telic in Libya in 2011, the Paveway IV were later used in strikes against the ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
Air power expert Justin Bronk said the weapons service the majority of the RAF’s target sets – blasting air defences, radar systems, depots and command and control centres.
This makes them the “overwhelmingly dominant strike weapon,” he told Forces.net.
The UK has promised a record £500million for President Zelensky’s war effort, taking the UK’s support for Kyiv to £3billion this financial year.
Britain pledged more than 1,600 long-range armaments including Storm Shadow missiles along with 400 vehicles and four million rounds of small-arms ammo.
Paveway IVs were not included on the UK’s official list, but BBC defence correspondent Jonathon Beale said on X, he had confirmation the next batch would include the precision-guided weapons.
SuppliedThe moment a Paveway IV is launched in the air[/caption]
APAn RAF Typhoon jet taking off to carry out strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen earlier this year[/caption]
Footage of the first strikes carried out by the UK and US on January 11
Paveway IV is a joint development by the UK-based Raytheon Systems and Raytheon Missile Systems in the US.
It is hoped they will compete against Russia’s gliding bombs, which have been devastating Ukrainian positions on battlefield, allowing Moscow’s forces to advance.
With Paveways and other high-precision weapons in Ukraine’s arsenal, the war-ravaged country might be able to mount similar operations.
Paveway IVs can be carried by Eurofighter Typhoon, F-35 Lightning II, Panavia Tornado, Harrier II – but it is not yet known which aircraft Ukraine will use.
It comes as Britain’s Chief of Defence Staff said Ukraine will now be able to ramp up long-range strikes inside Russia as billions of pounds worth of new weapons flood in.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin signalled that Britain had no opposition to the attacks on Russian soil.
Meanwhile, a tranche of fresh US weapons could be reaching Ukraine’s frontline in “just days”, US officials said.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed a bill to provide Ukraine with a £50billion war chest ahead of a new Russian offensive.
After six months of bitter deadlock in Congress, Biden was finally able to clear the way for desperately needed artillery, missiles and air defense munitions to head for Kyiv.
The announcement brought relief along Ukraine’s 600-mile front after Kyiv had to painfully ration its weapons, leaving its forces vulnerable to deadly Russian attacks.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky hailed it as a historic decision “that keeps history on the right track” against “Russian evil”.
The legislation was officially signed the same day it was confirmed the US had been secretly been sending Ukraine long-range ballistic missiles.
The bunker-busting ATACMS can reach targets “anywhere” within Russian-occupied Ukraine – potentially turning the tides of war in Kyiv’s favour, defence experts told The Sun.
Ukraine is bracing itself for a new Russian offensive
The war-torn country has been desperately short on munitions for six months as weapons deliveries stalled
UK MOD Crown copyrightThe high-precision munitions are now headed to Ukraine[/caption]
The UK agreed an extra £500million military aid to Ukraine
AFPPM Rishi Sunak with Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg as they jetted to Poland this week for crunch security talks[/caption]