Millies 2017: Hero Overseas Unit

The winners of the Hero Overseas Unit award are the UK Reaper Forces.

Flying over battlefields of Iraq and Syria, the Reaper can change the course of a fight.

Using precision weapons and intelligence, it can destroy terrorists and save the lives of coalition forces.

"I'm not sure the UK recognises the dedication - and sheer bloody mindedness of our crews to do what's right.

"It is a very hard task, it is thankless but tonight maybe we have got the recognition that the unit deserves."

To date, hundreds of airstrikes have been launched against Daesh by the Reaper team, as part of Operation Shader.

The aircraft are controlled by RAF crews at a base in Lincolnshire which itself becomes a theatre of battle.

During missions they work in teams of three, made of a pilot, sensor operator and an intelligence coordinator.

"Your heart is pounding, your hands are wet through, your neck is throbbing," says one of the team, who cannot be identified.

"You still have to get that laser spot on to that target, because if you don't, friendly forces will die."

They identify a terrorist threat by looking for key indicators - factors such as how they operate and their proximity to friendly forces.

"We know what they're doing...therefore we can tweek our tactics to always ensure that we remain one step ahead of them."

The UK Reaper Forces may sometimes only have minutes to identify and destroy a terrorist; one example being when a suicide truck was discovered outside of Mosul, heading straight for friendly forces.

"It was quite nerve-wracking - we only had 60 seconds then prior to weapon release," says one pilot.

"We managed to negate the threat and destroy the target."