§ David WrightTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times RAF aircraft(a) were fired upon and (b) responded with fire in Iraqi airspace in the last 12 months. [45135]
§ Mr. IngramRAF aircraft undertake patrols in Iraqi airspace as part of the international coalition's No Fly Zone (NFZ) enforcement operations. A single coalition NFZ patrol involves multiple aircraft types in an integrated package. Surface-to-air fire by Iraqi air defence weapons is recorded as an attack on the whole, rather than against individual aircraft types.
Between 1 March 2001 and 20 March 2002 attacks on coalition aircraft by Iraqi Air Defence weapons, including anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles, were recorded on 488 occasions.
On four occasions RAF aircraft released ordnance in self-defence responses to these attacks.