The air defence specialists have had their busiest night shooting down drones since the Iran war started.
13:15, Tue, Mar 24, 2026 Updated: 13:24, Tue, Mar 24, 2026
File image of an Iranian Shahed drone which Tehran has used extensively in attacks across the region (Image: AP)
British troops based in the Middle East shot down 14 kamikaze drones overnight — the most in a single night since the Iran war started. Air defence specialists from the RAF Regiment wiped out the one-way attack UAVs as they swarmed an allied airbase in Erbil, northern Iraq.
Defence officials said the attacks are a sign Iran and Tehran-backed militias are ramping up barrages after a decrease in recent days. “What we’re seeing is the rate of attacks last night returning to the norm we’d seen pre-Eid,” one defence official said. “We know that from intelligence reporting, we’ve seen it from the US, that the Iranians retain the ability to fire ballistic missiles, albeit at a lower rate than right at the start of the war, and also similarly with one-way attack drones.”
Iran is increasing its missile attacks, defence officials said (Image: Getty)
They did not disclose where the drones targeting coalition forces in Iraq were fired from.
RAF troops used the ground-based Rapid Sentry system, which was procured under great secrecy in 2022, to wipe out the drones, it was confirmed.
Around 70 drones have been shot down by the UK air defence specialists using the missile launchers in Iraq.
It is believed there were no British casualties in the latest assault on the base, which has come under repeated threat from UAVs since the war broke out nearly four weeks ago.
A number of US troops were injured at the base last week following a drone attack.
Defence officials said a number of places in the region saw an increase in attacks overnight — a clear indicator Iran still has significant missile and drone capabilities despite heavy targeting by US and Israeli forces.
They also confirmed the UK is prepared to host a security conference on the Strait of Hormuz in London or Portsmouth.
Iran’s de facto closure of the narrow waterway continues, with US intelligence officials claiming Iran has laid at least a dozen mines.
The UK and other European allies last week resisted Donald Trump’s calls to send warships to help reopen the key trade route.
Defence officials on Tuesday said the UK wants to help provide a safe passage through the chokepoint “as soon as the conditions are right”.
They said this will be part of a multinational force comprising crewed and uncrewed platforms.
One official said the UK will look to “accelerate” autonomous minehunters into service.
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Twenty-two nations have said they are ready to join efforts to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
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