RAF on war footing as it prepares to fly into Lebanon for key mission

RAF pilots have been flying into remote airstrips in Wales to rehearse rough landings as they prepare for a mercy dash to Lebanon to evacuate thousands of British civilians.

It follows a ratcheting up of tensions between Tel Aviv and the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah, which has been targeting Israel with missiles since October 7 in support of Hamas.

Last week The Sunday Express reported that IDF commanders were planning to resolve the standoff - which has forced 60,000 Israelis to evacuate their homes in northern Israel - “by September”.

On Wednesday Hezbollah confirmed that one of its senior commanders , Mohammed Nimah Nasser, was killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon, and the group retaliated with a barrage of rockets against Israel.

Military commanders in the UK have been tasked with planning a so-called Non-combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) of British personnel.

UK and US Special Forces already in Lebanon have identified two key staging points where nationals will be airlifted from.

An RAF insider said: “We need to be ready for a potentially difficult extraction of UK nationals in Lebanon.”

Planners have rehearsed several different options to evacuate UK nationals from Beirut - by air and sea.

Some RAF crews attached to 206 Squadron, based at RAF Brize Norton, spent the entire day recently rehearsing landing on the huge beach at Pembrey Sands in Carmarthenshire.

With support vessel RAF Cardigan Bay still off the Gazan coast, however, a seaborne evacuation using landing craft is still an option, either instead of or possibly alongside an airlift.

In Cyprus, some 400 Paratroopers and Royal Marines were last night poised in a tented camp alongside US Special Forces at RAF Akrotiri, ready to offer force protection and to escort evacuees on the ground.

The Paratroopers will be flown forward by RAF Chinooks to remote areas and link up with the Lebanese government forces ands secure the area to allow A4OOM transport planes to fly in and evacuate UK nationals.

Royal Marines, on the other hand will land by sea from the support ship RFA Cardigan Bay which can accommodate up to 1,000 civilians.

As a precaution the UK has also sent the Type-45 destroyer HMS Duncan to the general region accompanied by a nuclear submarine, while the US have dispatched the USS Wasp - an amphibious assault ship with 800 US Marines and helicopters aboard.

Any action will require a green light from Downing Street, offering new PM Keir Starmer one of his first emergency actions.

The FCDO first advised all UK national to leave Lebanon in October last year.

However, unofficial sources say that as many as 2,000 -including dual-nationals - still remain.

Last night an MoD source said the RAF routinely completes ‘soft landing training’ on Pembrey Sands for the A400 and that such operations are not country specific.

An Army source added: “We have planned and are prepared to mount any evacuation with our US allies.”