00:00Now, for the past month, British jets have been operating over Cyprus, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain
00:06after the US and Israel began their bombing campaign against Iran.
00:10RAF pilots have clocked up more than 1,000 flying hours over that time, shooting down several drones.
00:17Our defence correspondent, Jonathan Beale, is one of the first journalists to join an RAF refuelling tanker on a mission.
00:24He sent this report from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
00:28Straight level on this track, four to five minutes.
00:32British jets are on a mission to hunt down Iranian drones.
00:36Roger.
00:37We joined a refuelling flight from RAF Akrotiri, the petrol station in the sky to fuel these fighters protecting Cyprus.
00:47And already in the distance, signs of the war still raging.
00:52Over in that direction, you've got the Israel-Leblon coast.
00:56So quite often you can see either incoming missiles from Iran or the Israeli response going up to that as
01:02well.
01:02So we just saw a flash of orange there.
01:04That could have been a missile going up or going down.
01:07Potentially, yeah.
01:08We are still in the turn.
01:10Proof Iran's still a threat, even after a month of heavy bombing.
01:35British jets have been patrolling over Cyprus and Jordan since the war started.
01:39F-35s and Typhoons armed with sophisticated air-to-air missiles.
01:46An expensive golden bullet to shoot down cheap Iranian drones.
01:52This time, no targets.
01:55But over the past few weeks, they have taken down several drones.
01:58And working in congested airspace, it's no easy task.
02:03There are lots of risks, as you might expect, as operating a fast jet is a dangerous business,
02:10let alone if you're trying to do targeting close to the surface of the land or the sea,
02:17and integrate with a lot of other assets in what might be a complicated scenario that's evolving very rapidly.
02:26RAF Akrotiri's defences were bolstered before the war started.
02:31But there have been reinforcements after a drone hit the base.
02:36Helicopters fitted with air defence missiles, in addition to the armoured vehicles with the same.
02:42So will Iran try to target the base again?
02:46The Iranians have said publicly that they are.
02:49So I'd be a fool not to take them at their word.
02:53And all I'll say is that the amount of capability that we've got to deploy that here
02:58means that I am as sure as I can be that we're in a good place.
03:02You do not think this base will be attacked again by...?
03:04It could easily be attacked again.
03:06So I'm not saying it's been attacked once, so I'd be a fool to say it's not going to be
03:09attacked again.
03:10What I'm saying is that given the amount of warning out there and the air defence assets we've got in
03:15place,
03:15we're as well protected as we can be.
03:25British jets have been flying these defensive missions for over a month now.
03:30And no-one knows how long they'll be on this heightened state of alert.
03:35When and how this war ends is still out of their control.
03:40Jonathan Beale, BBC News, RAF Akrotiri.
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