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The British-made Brimstone is the most sophisticated missile of its kind being used in the Iraq air campaign

The British Defence Secretary confirmed that the British armed forces had launched its first air strikes against fighters from the Islamic State group in Iraq on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Defence in London said: "Two Tornado GR4s from RAF Akrotiri, conducted an armed reconnaissance mission in support of Iraqi government forces west of Baghdad.

"They were tasked to examine a location suspected of being used as an Isil command and control position. At the scene they were able to identify Isil activity and two vehicles, one of which was an armed pick up truck.

"Four Brimstone missiles were used to conduct a precision attack on the vehicles. Initial analysis indicates that the strikes were successful."

The British-made Brimstone is air-launched ground attack missile used for taking out armoured targets, such as tanks.

It uses a low-powered but highly focused explosive warhead to reduce shrapnel hitting civilians and has a programmable fuse that allows the pilot to decide at what point of impact the bomb explodes.

The Brimstone is capable of hitting moving targets travelling at speeds of up to 70mph and can be launched from an aircraft up to seven miles away from as high as 20,000 feet.

Britain and Saudi Arabia are currently the only two countries that use the Brimstone, which are conservatively estimated to cost £100,000 each


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