Refuelling the Rafale: RAF Voyager meets up with French fighters on Op Inherent Resolve

An RAF Voyager tanker has helped refuel two French fighter jets in mid-air as the two countries team up for a joint surveillance mission in the Middle East.

Both the UK and France are partners in the US-led Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria, working to destabilise the threat from ISIS.

The UK's contribution to Op Inherent Resolve, Op Shader, is expected to come to an end later this year.

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Operation Inherent Resolve began in 2014 to counter threats from ISIS extremists in Iraq and Syria.

Eighty-seven coalition partners, including the UK, work together to defeat ISIS and establish security in the region.

The RAF has actively partnered with the US in the region for more than a decade, conducting reconnaissance patrols over Iraq and eastern Syria to counter potential threats from ISIS, as part of Op Shader.

During this time, Typhoon jets and other aircraft have carried out numerous airstrikes against ISIS.

In June, the crew of a Royal Air Force Reaper drone, armed with Hellfire missiles, targeted and killed an ISIS terrorist riding a motorcycle in north-western Syria. 

However, Operation Shader is set to end in 2025, following more than 10,000 sorties by the RAF.

RAF aircraft have struck some 1,400 targets in Iraq and Syria during the mission, operating under the Global Coalition against Daesh.

The region continues to face instability after the collapse of the Syrian government in December 2024.