RAF troops shot down more than 100 Iranian drones and missiles fired at a coalition Middle East base

A coalition base in Iraq that British forces are helping to defend was targeted by around 28 Iranian-linked drones and missiles a day as the US and Israel attacked Iran, it has emerged.

Members of the RAF Regiment, using counter-drone missile systems, blasted more than 100 of the unmanned aircraft out of the sky during roughly six weeks of combat before a temporary ceasefire deal was agreed between Washington and Tehran in early April.

It is the first time the intensity of the conflict for British troops deployed to the region on defensive operations has become clear.

American troops are also located at the base and contribute to its defences.

Sky News was given rare access to the site, which is a frontline for UK military personnel.

"I would argue this place would be a smouldering wreck if it wasn't for you guys," Alistair Carns, the armed forces minister, said during a visit to the site last week along with Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, the head of the Royal Air Force.

The sprawling facility, which Sky News has agreed not to identify for security reasons, was one of the most targeted coalition bases across the whole of the Middle East as Iranian forces and their proxy militias in Iraq retaliated to US and Israeli bombardments.

While there have been no direct hits in the past three weeks, personnel are on alert in case the fighting resumes.

Air Chief Marshal Smyth said the conflict has demonstrated the vital importance of being able to intercept drones.

He told Sky News that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is considering expanding the UK's counter-drone capability as part of a much-delayed investment plan that has yet to be published.

"Yes, that's definitely a discussion that we're having," he said in an interview.

An 'Iron Dome' for the UK?

In addition to being deployed across the Middle East, the Royal Air Force has the lead responsibility for protecting the UK's skies from drone and missile threats.

But what is known as integrated air and missile defence is expensive, and it was significantly pared back following the end of the Cold War.

Air Chief Marshal Smyth said it will be regrown - though he indicated that the scale of protection will depend on the price tag that the government is willing to pay.

The kind of "Iron Dome" that Israel has constructed to protect its people and critical infrastructure would be very costly.

Asked to give a sense of the expansion in air and missile defence that the UK needs, the head of the RAF said: "It all starts with your appetite for what you need to defend.

"If you wanted to have an equivalent of an Iron Dome over the whole of the UK, the numbers would be huge. If the discussion is around protecting key cities and key critical national infrastructure areas, then those numbers are smaller."

He said he could not reveal details about internal discussions on increasing Britain's defences against drone and missile threats.

But he said: "We do understand the task, and we do understand what the scale-up would be required, and that discussion is being had."

At the base, two members of the RAF Regiment – the air force's ground troops – shared their experiences of operating a counter-drone system called Rapid Sentry that fires four laser-guided missiles against incoming threats.

'If you're good at Xbox, this is for you'

Sitting in a cabin close to the weapon, which is situated on a mound, they use a control panel – a bit like a video game controller – to steer a munition on to a target.

The pair said being good at computer games is a handy skill for a counter-drone operator.

"I mean, with the adrenaline buzz going through it [when taking out drones for real], I probably don't have that much going through when I am playing Call Of Duty," said Air Specialist (Class 1) Durso-Colville, 22.

"But, yeah, it is all in the thumbs. It is all in the thumbs. If you are good at video games, you will probably be good at this."

His colleague, Air Specialist (Class 1) Westworth, 21, said: "It is a little bit different to the Xbox controller, but the concept is pretty much the same.

"If you are good at Xbox and PlayStation, then I think this is probably the one for you."

Both servicemen have been made "aces" because they have taken down more than five enemy drones.

The "aces" title – created during the Second World War – is more commonly associated with fighter pilots. The extension of the honour to drone combatants is an indication of the evolving character of warfare.

Mr Carns, addressing RAF Regiment personnel and other troops in a makeshift cabin on the base, said the unit's efforts are helping the whole UK armed forces to learn about drones.

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He said Russia's war in Ukraine was the first signal about the emerging importance of uncrewed systems, with the Iran conflict driving home the shift in how war is waged.

Mr Carns, a Royal Marine reservist, said: "If the teacher was Ukraine, the headmaster has just come in – Iran – and hit us with a ruler and told us to wake up, and you guys are the very cutting edge of it, above and beyond anybody else."

Coalition forces have been deployed to the base in Iraq for more than a decade to counter the threat from the Islamic State.

(c) Sky News 2026: RAF troops shot down more than 100 Iranian drones and missiles fired at a coalition Middle East base