Scores of aircraft are sent to the Gulf as build-up gathers pace

SCORES of Royal Air Force bombers, fighters and helicopters were ordered to the Gulf yesterday as the government stepped up its preparations for a possible attack on Iraq.

Hundreds of servicemen from Scottish bases will be among the thousands of RAF personnel heading to the area in coming "days and weeks" after Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, announced Britain was increasing its presence there to 100 fixed-wing aircraft and 27 helicopters.

The 8,100 strong RAF deployment, the largest deployment since the 1991 Gulf war, will push the size of the British contingent committed in the Middle East to 42,100.

Spearheaded by Tornado bombers from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray and Tornado fighters from RAF Leuchars in Fife, the deployment will include 1,600 reservists from bases all over the country, including Scotland’s three Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadrons in Lossiemouth, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

Defence sources said some of those involved would be heading off immediately, while others would be sent in coming days and weeks.

Mr Hoon told MPs yesterday the RAF was making a very substantial contribution "to the building of a credible threat of force".

He stressed it was still possible for Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader, to disarm peacefully, but added: "Time is running out. The Iraqi regime must decide whether it will comply with its obligations or face the consequences."

He continued: "Clearly our forces will be in the Gulf for as long as it takes to disarm Iraq and the regime of Saddam Hussein."

The deployment comes as the US air force is building up its airpower in the Middle East, with F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters leaving their base in New Mexico earlier in the week.

When the new British and US aircraft deployments are complete by the end of February, more than 500 aircraft will be within striking distance of Iraq.

Mr Hoon announced that almost every type of combat and support aircraft in the RAF’s fleet was being committed to Operation Telic.

The force includes Tornado GR4 and Harrier GR7 strike aircraft armed with precision-guided weapons, "should they be required"; Tornado F3 aircraft with the new ASRAAM "dogfighting" missile for air defence; Hercules transport aircraft; E3D Sentry radar aircraft for airborne command and control; Jaguar and Tornado aircraft for reconnaissance; and VC10 and Tristar air-to-air refuelling aircraft. RAF Kinloss, in Moray, is to provide Nimrod MR2s and personnel for the operation. Puma and Chinook helicopters will also be available, on top of the five Chinook helicopters already travelling on HMS Ark Royal to support the Royal Marine commandos. The bulk of the fast jet aircraft are expected to be deployed at Ali al Salem air base in Kuwait, with the larger support aircraft being based further afield in Bahrain or Oman.

The exact composition of the force was not broken down by Mr Hoon, who said final details of the deployment’s planning were being completed.

RAF sources said details of where the jets were going were not being released for "force protection" reasons.

Mr Hoon praised the "courage and professionalism" of RAF personnel in the Middle East, who have been helping to patrol the no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq since 1992.

In the US, meanwhile, the army’s elite 101st Airborne Division yesterday received orders to go overseas.

The division and its 270 helicopters will "support possible future operations in the global war on terrorism", according to a statement from the public affairs office at Fort Campbell, where the division is based.

The division will go to the US Central Command area of operations, the statement added.