Why British Eurofighters Have Been Assigned Air Defence Duties in Qatar as an Attack on Iran Looms

Twelve British Royal Air Force Eurofighter FGR4 fighters deployed to Qatar will reportedly not be involved in possible U.S.-led attacks on Iran, and will instead be assigned air defence duties in the event of Iranian retaliation. The deployment was made at a time when the United States is reportedly considering a range of options to launch attacks on Iran, and has significantly expanded its regional military presence with eight destroyers, the supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln, and dozens of supply runs by C-17 and C-5 strategic transports, among other redeployments. Although the Eurofighter lacks anti-ballistic missile capabilities, they are capable of engaging low value unmanned aircraft, such as the Shahed 136 single use attack drone, which are expected to be launched against Western and Israeli military and strategic targets in significant numbers in the event of a high intensity conflict.

The British Eurofighter fleet is largely considered obsolete for high intensity combat, with their reliance on the Captor mechanically scanned array radar leaving them highly vulnerable to jamming, and limiting both their situational awareness and their electronic warfare potential. The Royal Air Force has begun to significantly reduce the number of Eurofighters in service, while financing the modernisation of just 40 of its aircraft with urgently needed ECRS Mk2 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars, which will significantly improve the combat potential of a small portion of the fleet. It was confirmed in November 2024 that no further orders from the aircraft will be placed, with the Ministry of Defence expected to prioritise financing procurements of the F-35A, which despite being a generation ahead in terms of performance, has a comparable lifetime cost.

It is expected that a U.S.-led air assault will see F-35A and F-35C fighters play central roles in launching electronic attacks and collecting intelligence, while E/A-18G attack aircraft are primarily tasked with neutralising local air defences, paving the way for F-15E and F-18E/F multirole fighters with more advanced sensors and weaponry to carry out the bulk of operations. British Eurofighters previously provided support to U.S. and Israeli air defence efforts by intercepting a small portion of Iranian drone strikes during a brief period of hostiles in April 2024, although U.S. Air Force F-15E fighters were responsible for the bulk of successful shootdowns. The F-15s carry radars that are both larger and more sophisticated, have higher weapons carrying capacities, and are both significantly faster and longer ranged allowing them to loiter for longer periods and respond to threats more rapidly. 

British Royal Air Force Eurofighters have taken part in multiple combat operations in the Middle East, and in late 2023 were deployed to provide significant support to the ongoing Israeli war effort against Palestinian militia groups by conducting surveillance flights over the Gaza Strip. The service had from December to mid-January 2024 flown over 50 surveillance flights over Gaza from the country’s airbase in Cyprus, RAF Akrotiri, a Permanent Joint Operating Base. The deployment was made in parallel to supplies of armaments to support an ongoing invasion of the territory by Israeli forces. RAF Akrotiri was previously used as a staging ground for offensives against Libya in 2011, in and from January 12, 2024 has been used for strikes against Yemeni Ansuruallah Coalition forces, with Eurofighters playing roles in both operations. British Eurofighters also participated in U.S.-led attacks on Syrian government forces in April 2018 to support Western-backed insurgents, with the aircraft launching Storm Shadow cruise missiles from safe distances while remaining well out of range of Syrian air defences.