RAF Tornado Jets Today Joined the Attack in Libya

BlakBlakanNews - International, Libya Crisis. RAF Tornado jets today joined the attack in Libya just hours after British and American warships unleashed cruise missiles against Libya as the world finally turned on Colonel Gaddafi.

Following the start of the assault, the dictator said that western air raids amount to terrorism and that Libyan forces on the ground would be victorious, adding that he would not leave the country and people should defend him and the capital.

Stormshadow missiles were launched from the GR4 fast jets which had flown 3,000 miles from RAF Marham in Norfolk and back - the longest range bombing since the Falklands.

As part of a co-ordinated strike, a barrage of 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles - some of them British - was also fired at Libya to knock out the dictator's air defence systems at more than 20 coastal locations.

At war: The U.S. navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer launches a Tomahawk missile at Libyan air defences in Operation Odyssey Dawn

A Tomahawk missile launches from USS Stout as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn

A Royal Navy Trafalgar-class submarine stationed in the Mediterranean took part in the co-ordinated assault, which also involved forces from the US, France, Italy and Canada under the operational control of US Africa Command.

A British nuclear-powered submarine was among the vessels in the central Mediterranean that targeted Gaddafi’s defences near Tripoli and the town of Misurata.

It was part of a combined assault led by the United States, which also has Tomahawk-equipped submarines in the region.

Chancellor George Osborne was on BBC1's Andrew Marr show this morning where he sadi: 'We are not considering ground forces at the moment. We are undertaking operations from our Navy, through the submarine-launched cruise missiles and the RAF and the Tornado planes the flew missions last night.'

RAF Marham: An RAF Tornado GR4 aircraft being prepared earlier this morning ahead of its 3,000 mile flight from Norfolk to Libya

He added that the Government is enforcing a UN resolution which was clear about what the allied forces are there to do.

'We are there to enforce a cease fire and protect the civilian population,' he said. 'We are not there to put an occupying force into the country.

'This is all about creating the space for the Libyan people to take their own decisions for the future and not be under vicious military assault from their own government.

'I don't think the Libyan government and Colonel Gaddafi should be in any doubt that we will enforce the will of the United Nations.'

Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: 'The fast jets flew 3,000 miles from RAF Marham and back, making this the longest range bombing mission conducted by the RAF since the Falklands conflict.

'This operation was supported by VC10 and Tristar air-to-air refuelling aircraft as well as E3D Sentry and Sentinel surveillance aircraft.'

Dr Fox said HMS Westminster was off the coast of Libya, and HMS Cumberland was in the region ready to support operations. Typhoon aircraft were also standing by to provide support.

He added: 'Our capable and adaptable armed forces are once again displaying their courage and professionalism. This action has provided a strong signal - the international community will not stand by while the Libyan people suffer under the Gaddafi regime.'

Last night, the US Pentagon reported that 112 Tomahawk missiles had been fired from both US and British ships and submarines in Operation Odyssey Dawn while three B-2 stealth bombers from the U.S. have dropped 40 bombs on Libyan airfields.

A spokesman said: ‘The missiles struck more than 20 integrated air-defence systems and other defence facilities ashore. These strikes were carefully co-ordinated with our coalition partners.

‘The targets themselves were selected based on a collective assessment that the sites either pose a direct threat to the coalition pilots or, through use by the regime, pose a direct threat to the people of Libya.

‘I want to stress that this is just the first phase of what will likely be a multi-phased military operation designed to enforce the United Nations resolution and deny the Libyan regime the ability to use force against its own people.’

He added that most of the locations targeted were on or near the coast. The British submarine involved in the operation, codenamed Operation Ellamy by the UK military, was the 130-crew HMS Triumph. It can carry up to 30 weapons, including Tomahawk missiles and heavy torpedoes.

A U.S. Air Force AWACS surveillance aircraft comes in to land at an RAF base in Cyprus earlier this morning

Night vision: Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from USS Barry in the Mediterranean Sea

The Royal Navy bought 65 Tomahawks in 1995 at a cost of $1 million (£650,000) each from US defence firm Raytheon Systems. Two American destroyers, the USS Barry and Stout, have been deployed. According to a Pentagon source, each carries up to 96 Tomahawk missiles.

‘The total number of Tomahawks in our inventory is classified but I don’t think there’s any danger of running out,’ the spokesman said. ‘The bigger danger is we know virtually nothing about who’s going to control Libya after we wipe out Gaddafi.’

Two amphibious assault ships, the USS Ponce and Kearsarge, carrying 1,600 Marines, anti-missile defence systems and helicopter fleets, were also off the Libyan coast, as was the command support vessel USS Mount Whitney. An aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, equipped with dozens of fighter planes, was reported to be heading for the area.

As the attacks began yesterday, Libyan state TV claimed that ‘civilian’ targets in Tripoli were being bombarded by ‘planes of crusader enemies’. It later added that the international coalition had also 'targeted ‘fuel stores’ for Misurata, which Gaddafi’s forces attacked with tanks and heavy artillery on Friday, killing more than 40 people.

Gaddafi appeared on TV to say he was opening up munition stores to the people. He said: ‘It is now necessary to open the stores and arm all the masses with all types of weapons to defend the independence, unity and honour of Libya.’

Last night there were reports of loud explosions east of Tripoli amid unconfirmed reports that the Tomahawks had successfully hit Gaddafi’s air traffic control installations and aircraft hangars.

It followed a day of high drama in which tanks and armoured vehicles were also destroyed in air strikes by French warplanes after pro-Gaddafi forces attacked the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in violation of the UN resolution.

About 20 French Rafale and Mirage warplanes were involved in the first phase of the operation. France last night denied that one of its aircraft had been shot down.