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Falklands role for coast-built planes
FOUR Fylde-built Eurofighter Typhoon jets are patrolling airspace around the Falkland Islands.
The aircraft, from 11 Squadron RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, have replaced the Tornado F3 fighters which have been based in the colony in the South Atlantic for 17 years.
The 67m jets have been used to patrol airspace during major sporting events over the past few years, including Euro 2006 and last year's Olympics in Beijing.
But this is the first time a platoon of Typhoons have been sent out to guard the air of an island for a long period of time.
Fylde MP Michael Jack said the use of the Typhoons in the British colony shows its versatility.
He added: "This was obviously a challenging situation but to have Typhoons stationed there is a major boost to the confidence people have in this jet.
"To deploy Typhoons to guard an airspace is a massive achievement for the project and just shows how versatile the jet can be.
"The Typhoon was built for its defensive duties but in the case of the Falklands it is being used as protection."
In a two-stage operation the aircraft were trailed by tankers to Ascension Island, using the Canary Islands as a staging post.
From Ascension, they were trailed again to the Falkland Islands without any outside assistance.
Squadron leader Pete Morgan said: "Not only was there a real requirement to deploy the Typhoons to replace the shortly-to-be-retired Tornado F3s, but the UK was also keen to demonstrate its continued ability to force project air power over strategic distances.
"The Falkland Islands-based VC10 aircraft was on hand to provide a final top-up of fuel if required and to enable the Typhoons to divert to the South American mainland had the weather deteriorated unexpectedly during the nine-and-a-half hour transit."
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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