UK RAF deploys AWACS against Islamic State

Coalition air operations against the Islamic State have been bolstered by the deployment of a UK Boeing E-3D Sentry AWACS aircraft to the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Akrotiri on Cyprus.

The deployment of the aircraft on 28 January from the 8 Squadron at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire was revealed in an announcement posted on the UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) Twitter feed later that day.

It followed an announcement by UK Prime Minister David Cameron in Washington, DC, on 16 January that the RAF's ISTAR capability committed to Operation 'Shader', as the UK mission in Iraq and Syria is code-named, would be enhanced.

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