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This programme contains strong language

The whole situation in Syria is a bit unstable.

NEWS REPORT: Last night three US soldiers were killed

and 34 injured in an attack on the Syrian border.

Flying a Typhoon on my own over the top of a war zone

is nerve-racking.

The buck stops with you.

Russia have got a significant presence in Syria.

Some of their actions have been dangerous.

NEWS REPORT: Russian fighter jets attacked an American drone,

in an attempt to hit it.

If we've got Russian jets around, they could start World War III.

The RAF is on high alert.

We know something is going to happen in the next 24 hours.

Tower, ready to check.

There's a potential ISIS safe house.

Everything that's happening with Russia and Ukraine,

it's like a tinder box.

You're doing an important role protecting from Vladi the Baddie.

ALARM SOUNDS

Here we go.

Whoa! Holy shit!

With conflict in Europe

and the Middle East...

..British war planes are poised to face any threat.

RUSSIAN VOICE:

ID Russian aircraft.

You don't want to fire on it and end up starting World War III.

This is not part of my job anyway.

This is just because I found it on the floor.

RAF Akrotiri is strategically situated

in the eastern Mediterranean.

From here, jets fly counter terrorism missions

across the Middle East.

Delta Delta flight. Akrotiri approach, you can continue.

For the next few months,

it's home to 150 personnel from RAF Coningsby's XI Squadron.

You guys have taken that pin out already, haven't you?

You taking this one out now?

The special tool?

You're a special tool.

PHONE DIALLING TONE

Hey, mate, how are you?

Good.

In charge of XI Squadron is one of

the air force's most experienced fighter pilots.

I'm Wing Commander Mark Robertson,

OC XI Squadron.

I've been in the Air Force 24 years,

but this will be my last operational tour as a pilot.

What's the plan for the rest of the day?

You going to help Mummy cook dinner? Yeah. Oh, nice.

I don't think my kids believe I do this job.

They just think I put a costume on and go to work

and someone far cooler than their dad gets to go fly jets every day.

You'll miss out on my award-winning roast potatoes, won't you?

Definitely.

Not long now mate, not long now.

When I go away, I dump the whole of the domestic problems

and running of the household and the kids' lives on my wife.

We've been together since school.

She's been incredibly good to me,

supporting me through my whole career.

And now I'm the commander of a Typhoon fighter squadron out here

on Operation Shader.

Across Iraq and Syria,

Operation Shader is the UK's longstanding mission to combat ISIS.

NEWS REPORT: There's recently been a spike in ISIS activity in Syria.

NEWS REPORT: ISIS appears to be angling to take advantage of

heightened tensions in the Middle East.

As tensions rise, ISIS militants are becoming emboldened.

Attacks on coalition ground troops across the region

are increasing.

A mission to help defend coalition forces has just been handed

to XI Squadron's boss...

Hey, Josh.

..along with his newest and youngest pilot.

So, our task today is

supporting the ground troops in Southern Syria

and providing overhead cover.

If coalition forces are under attack, we can strike targets

to prevent terrorists from harming us.

I'm Josh.

I'm a Flight Lieutenant in the Air Force.

It's taken about eight-and-a-half years of training since I joined

the RAF through to getting to the front line.

This is my life's dream.

Objectively what I want to get out of today is

give you the confidence to get yourself into and out of Syria.

Any questions on that?

No, no questions, boss. Sweet.

Robbo will lead Josh on a seven-hour patrol over Syria,

where ISIS activity is increasing.

They must hunt for any sign of the terror group

and be ready to help coalition forces fighting on the ground.

Josh joined the squadron last year,

and like most junior pilots that come out,

they're a little bit quiet, assessing what's going on,

and see where they fit.

Morning, mate.

This is the first time I'm flying a mission over Syria.

I want to make the boss feel justified,

proving to him that I can do it,

and that I'm worthy of the combat-ready patch

that he's slapped on my shoulder a few months ago.

For this generation of pilots coming through the system,

I'd say the biggest challenge is being here and doing the job

where it is real, and it could go wrong.

The boss probably one of the most experienced people we have.

You know you're learning from the best,

and, as a result, you want to perform the best.

You want to do a good job for him.

The Typhoon is not blessed with thousands

and thousands of miles range, like an airliner.

We have to do lots of air-to-air refuelling.

Burning through around three tonnes of fuel per hour,

Robbo and Josh need a full tank before crossing into Syria.

Robbo's refuelling is under way,

as Josh tries to connect to the tanker's second trailing hose.

Operating in this high-stakes airspace,

one miscalculation or error could be really bad.

But equally,

you've got limited amount of time to get joined up with

the tanker to take on the fuel.

Sudden gusts of wind are hampering Josh's efforts...

..causing his fuel supplies to dwindle further.

In the heat of the moment, you're just concentrating.

I'm trying not think of the worst-case scenario.

If I can't join up to the tanker, I could just fall out the sky.

AUTOMATED VOICE:

Warlord 11 Flight Coningsby. Good morning.

Taxi holding. Bravo 1.

Located in the heart of Lincolnshire...

102 after departure mid north, climb flight level 150.

..Coningsby is home to half of the RAF's Typhoon force,

where pilots are trained around the clock...

Typhoon 01 identifies one BAE Systems hawk.

Black paint.

..to be combat-ready, before deploying overseas.

Sir. Gents, come in.

How's things? Good to see you, Dan. Hey, Bolly.

Yeah, really good thanks. Please have a seat.

So, gents, how's the work up been going?

It's busy. It's quite a big ask, but I think we're getting through it

and we've still got a little bit of time left

so hopefully we can keep cracking away.

I'm Flight Lieutenant Dan Watmough,

and I'm a fighter pilot on 3 Squadron.

Top Gun got pretty close.

The flying is pretty accurate.

The women clearly not, because I've got a wife.

When was the last time the two of you were out in Akrotiri?

Last summer, 2023, for us.

It does feel very different

and there's an awful lot going on at the moment.

In a few weeks' time,

Dan and the rest of 3 Squadron are heading to Akrotiri

to take over on Operation Shader.

It's an incredibly tense time.

They've been nonstop, all revolving about what Hezbollah might do,

what Israel might do, what Iran might do next,

and really deterring all of those regional actors from taking

a step forward that might make things even more dangerous for us.

You're going to be tested.

So you've really got to be on your "A" game.

Before he leaves,

Dan must prepare for the missions he'll fly over the Middle East.

Flying low level to replicate avoiding air defences,

and a practice bomb drop using the Typhoon's computers.

Failure means he'd be unable to fly on the front line.

All right, dude? I'm all right, How's tricks?

I always wanted to join the Air Force when I was younger,

but never thought I was good enough.

Previous jobs - Tesco till worker.

Worked in a fishing shop,

worked in a shoe shop,

plastering, plumbing, all sorts.

You could say I took the long route.

I was at work one day and two Typhoons came over.

I looked up and I said, "I need to do that."

So, I joined at 21, 22, I think.

Dan is first heading northwest,

where he'll attempt to navigate the valleys of the Lake District

whilst flying close to the speed of sound.

The Typhoon wasn't built for me.

You are quite tall, aren't you?

It's ridiculous.

When you go through officer air crew selection, you get measured.

I think I was 6mm too tall for a pilot.

So that's why I ended up being a navigator for seven years,

up in the back seat of a two-seater aircraft.

But you start crunching over, pulling G, ugh.

And then, obviously, got older, shrunk.

Went back and was like, I think I'm smaller now.

Got measured and, yeah, lifelong dream.

Finally a pilot.

We train to be able to fly below enemy radar.

So you can fly through valleys

and use the terrain to mask your aircraft.

There's not a lot of room for error if you get it wrong.

COMPUTER:

On Operation Shader, if they think they've got intelligence that maybe

an ambush is going to happen on the ground troops,

a show of force with the Typhoons can be really effective.

If we can fly low, close to the enemy, over the ground

and really fast over the top, 600 knots,

it's usually enough to break contact. So, if the enemy sees that,

they know I'm here and they'll usually put their guns down

and walk away from the fight.

Having safely flown the low-level course,

Dan must now practise a missile strike using

the Typhoon's targeting computer.

A team on the ground have given Dan a training target

and will monitor his performance.

The weapons instructors are so hard on us because they know that,

if they're about to let you go out the door

with two Typhoons that are loaded up with weapons

into someone else's country, they want to make sure you do it right.

If you do the wrong thing or make the wrong selection, then...

Don't really want to think about it.

The targeting computer in Dan's jet records

a successful virtual strike.

The next time he drops a bomb could be for real,

on an enemy target in the Middle East.

When you get a challenging refuelling bracket,

you've got to keep your mind in the game.

11 squadron boss Robbo is flying off the coast of Syria...

..as his wingman Josh perseveres connecting

to the tanker's fuel hose.

Feeling relief that I've joined up with the tanker.

I had a bit of a smirk on my face.

No-one wants a mission report and it goes, wingman couldn't tank.

That's the last thing you want.

With both jets now full...

..the mission to hunt for ISIS over Syria can begin.

The refuelling nozzle on Josh's jet won't retract.

With it still protruding,

his speed and manoeuvrability are limited,

making him more vulnerable to attack.

All that's going through my mind is how frustrating this is.

It's getting in the way of the mission.

On safety grounds, Robbo has scrubbed the mission.

There's only so much we can do in the cockpit.

External factors, like weather,

aircraft serviceability or issues

with refuelling can add up.

We have to think about the bigger picture

and being able to come back tomorrow.

It's a premature end to Josh's first Syrian mission.

The team must now return to base.

Why has somebody done this so tight?

Have you done the hinges yet? No, I'm doing them now.

If I could rate this a scale of one to ten,

I'd give it a solid 11.

Because it's too RIVETING.

Yeah, yeah, riveting?

Oh, my God, Meatball, shush.

Responsible for keeping the Typhoons in full flying order

are a team of mechanics and engineers working round the clock.

It's not a bad life out here, just a lot of work.

I'm Josh Stocks and I'm an aircraft technician mechanical.

My job is mostly fixing planes when they break.

People call me Meatball.

Once some guy called me Meatball, and I went,

I like Meatball, I'm Meatball.

And that's all it took.

Yeah, so, they've just about landed, can see them landing now.

Go down to the res, see them in.

Looks like a few issues, we'll find out when we get there.

The task of fixing the broken fuel probe on Josh's jet

has fallen to Meatball.

When I was younger, I was working at Maccies

flipping burgers and just messing about.

I had no aspirations, really, with what I wanted to do with my life

cos you don't know as a kid.

It was just some advert on the radio for the military,

and something just clicked, and I went...

..that could be, that could be fun.

Went to the RAF, joined up and now I'm in Cyprus.

It was a strange kind of leap for me, but I've enjoyed it.

All right, is there fuel problems with it?

Typhoon's a flying computer. It breaks a lot, but it tells you

what's wrong a lot of the time, which is quite nice.

One of the biggest issues we have out here is the refuel probes.

That was bit of a dick dance, wasn't it?

Frustrating and we've not achieved anything so...

Oh, well. Hopefully, we'll try again tomorrow.

The faulty fuel probe is going to be given a full assessment.

This is an adaptor, so we can adapt

the refuel bowser to the probe,

because otherwise it won't connect.

We're basically trying to get the same fault as they had in flight.

Can we make it do the same issue again?

Ideal world, it will show us - this is broken,

because of this, but it probably won't.

Bloody hell.

Why's that not clicking?

There we go, sound.

I've basically got to hold this now the whole time.

Obviously, the RAF's goal is get those planes in the sky.

You can't fly without supply. Ooh!

HE CHUCKLES

It's getting very heavy. Is it? Yeah. Have a look.

Oh, come on, hold it.

THEY LAUGH

Oh!

Do it a bit more... Like, try different ways.

Keeping the fleet airborne requires a number of different

engineering specialities.

Trades wise, the big three, we've got the armourers,

which are basically just pin monkeys,

so they just put pins in and out.

Then you've got fairies, which are electrical people,

you know, they do all the electrics on the plane.

And then mechs, which are anything that's dirty, we get that job.

That's enough, pressure released.

But obviously it hasn't broken, has it? It's worked fine.

I think it is the software.

Leave that for the fairies, that's their problem now.

With Meatball unable to find any mechanical problems

affecting the probe, electricians working overnight will fix

the retraction issue.

Like everyone deployed to Akrotiri,

Meatball lives on the base.

This is our beautiful block, it's what you came to.

Junior ranks live together in rooms of up to four people.

Privacy is reserved for more senior personnel.

Yeah, so this is our lovely, lovely room.

Two windows, four-beds.

A few wardrobes.

Life's pretty good in here.

So, we're away for 104 days this deployment.

It's not too long, I've done longer, but obviously it's still quite

a long time away from home, and away from family and that.

We definitely count down the days, we've got a little calendar.

We just knock off the days as it goes across.

It's quite nice, get to leave then.

Hey, Robbo.

Ah, up for a game?

Eh? Up for a game?

Having good mates gets you through everything basically,

it's the camaraderie.

Oh...

We just try and have a laugh while we have a few hours off.

Close enough.

But you're on ops, and out here to do a job.

Yes!

This is definitely the front line in the RAF.

NEWSREEL: In a drone attack, three US soldiers were killed

and 34 were injured in Jordan, close to the Syrian border.

Close to where 11 Squadron's Typhoons have been flying

over Syria, a US military base has come under attack by militants.

When there's coalition soldiers being killed on the ground,

it's always a very emotional event for everyone on Shader.

NEWSREEL: In a written statement, Joe Biden said the three American

service members we lost were patriots in the highest sense.

There might be a fair bit for us to look at on the ground,

the aftermath of that might be that it might be a bit busier there

for us or the threat might be higher.

The whole situation in the Middle East is unstable.

But equally, no-one wants to see war.

NEWSREEL: Three soldiers are dead after a drone attack in Jordan,

near its border with Syria.

US President Joe Biden has said the US is willing

to retaliate at a time and a place of its choosing in the future.

As tensions rise across the Middle East,

11 Squadron are being called upon in the wake of

a drone attack on US forces.

So, the aim of today's sortie,

we're there to do air patrol and air traffic or tactical control.

So, there's quite a lot to take in on one sortie,

so we will fly over the top of the base looking with our eyes,

radars and sensors for any one-way attack drones

and intercept if needed.

Any questions? No. No? That's all there.

Robbo and Josh are to head towards the location of the US base

and hunt for any sign of insurgents on the ground

before they can fully disperse.

Out briefing Bruiser and 434, please.

Make sure you are sanitised,

wedding rings and things like that are up to you.

Yep. Are you ready mate?

In the worst-case scenario, if things go bad

and we get shot down, we don't want to have any identifying markers

on us especially, nothing that could quickly identify us

and lead an enemy to our families.

Please place the pistol in the holster.

So, we sanitise ourselves by removing all badges,

name tags and wedding rings so that, on appearance to an enemy,

they'd have nothing to go on initially.

The biggest thing that is in your mind before you go on one

of these missions is that this is real,

stuff is happening slightly differently to the training.

Especially because we also have

Russia quite heavily involved in Syria.

NEWSREEL: The US has continued operations to fight ISIS in Syria,

while Russia supports Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad.

Russia have got a significant presence in Syria -

aircraft and airbases and ground troops

positioned around the country.

Some of their actions in recent history have been dangerous

and could be interpreted as escalatory.

NEWSREEL: Russian fighter jets attacked an American drone.

One of the Russian jets began dropping flares in front of

the drone, in an attempt to hit it.

We are flying into an area where there are people that have

the capability and intent to actually harm us.

The risk is massive.

Are you just all right to stand up on this path?

We won't be a second, thank you. Good lad.

If you were going to have one meal for the rest of your life,

what would it be?

I think, steak.

That's so boring, honestly.

Amelia, come straight directly that way.

Yeah, sound.

Run, run, run!

Argh!

Drop your weapon.

Argh!

He nearly fucking broke my elbow then, that dog.

HE LAUGHS

Facing three months in Cyprus, before he leaves,

Dan's keen to ensure all is well on the home front.

Look at the finish on that.

It's just perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

SANDER WHIRS

How's your wife feeling about you going?

Yeah, not...not happy.

It'll be my third tour with the kids, so it's not great.

Everything's single parent ops while I'm away,

so it takes its toll.

But hopefully it'll be the last one for a while.

3 Squadron's equipment is travelling ahead of the team,

so Dan must get his kit together before the final exercise.

It's been a really tough few weeks, sort of getting everything ready.

Yeah, this is pretty much the final bit.

I think we're ready, ready as we can be.

You do have fears, it dwells on you at random times,

could be two in the morning.

Playing with the kids on Saturday, you'll be thinking about stuff.

What if that happens - what if, what if, what if.

Body armour in there, um...

Bullet proof plates.

But you strap yourself into the jet and you just become the jet

and everything goes away, everything just disappears.

You're in another world, it's weird.

It's really weird.

And last but not least, this little dude.

He's followed me around...

..14 years now?

So he's been on every ops sortie I've ever flown on.

He's coming with me.

I thought I'd fly him on every mission

and when my kids are a bit older, I'll give it to the kids.

DOG WHINES

Uh, little bit nervous, but ultimately excited.

Excited to go. I'm going to miss the family,

that's the biggest thing, but it'll be good when I come back.

But, yeah, it'll be hard.

DOG WHINES

Coningsby Tower 991 ready for departure.

PLANE ROARS

After six months of preparation,

Dan's final training flight is an opportunity

to hone his combat skills in a dogfight

with one of his colleagues.

I'm Tom Boland, Flight Lieutenant, 3 Fighter Squadron.

I grew up watching loads of air shows.

The first time I ever saw a Harrier, I was a young child,

and when it does its hovering,

I always thought that was pretty cool.

Pretty special to see an aircraft do that.

Something that gets like ingrained into memory.

Known as Bolly, he's also heading to RAF Akrotiri

with Dan on Operation Shader.

Looking forward to it? Yeah, mate, can't wait.

Good to go? Yeah. Let's do it.

Merci.

I don't want to blow smoke up my arse,

but as a front line Typhoon pilot, I'm a legend.

Bolly's subpar, he's just average,

and I need to bring him up to Shader standard.

HE CHUCKLES

You can't put this in, cos he'll kill me.

What one are you in, mate?

To be honest, Bolly's a... Yeah, he's a great dude,

344, right.

Very capable.

See you in the air.

He's kind. He's a kind individual.

Dog fighting, you treat it all as if it is for real.

As fighter pilots, obviously we pride ourselves on our performance.

We absolutely do not want to lose.

I'm dash two, Bolly is dash one,

over there. So, I'll be taxi second.

Everyone needs to be ready and proficient in all

the different disciplines that we do to ensure

we're the best we can possibly be,

because you can't afford to make the mistake out there.

Operations, it's no joke. It's...it's the real thing.

So, ultimately, we have to be ready for anything.

The dogfight starts with Dan and Bolly flying towards each other,

to ensure neither has any advantage.

We're simulating two aircraft fighting each other in the sky.

So, if you do get up and close with an enemy aircraft,

you can manoeuvre and try and fly behind the other aircraft

and then shoot it down.

Ultimately, so you don't die.

Dan went off-piste, using a vertical game plan,

ie, he went up.

That's not something that a Typhoon would normally do,

but that was Dan testing me.

It is a game of cat and mouse.

The dogfight will last for three minutes,

as each pilot tries to get behind their opponent

and target missiles at their jet.

You've got to maintain eyes on the other aircraft while pulling 9G.

It's painful.

Overall, just fight your best fight.

I want to end up in a position to employ my weapon.

You're constantly looking to see what he's going to do,

he's doing the same as well.

Ultimately, we're trying to make each other better.

We both ended up neutral, unable to shoot each other -

which is exactly where you want to be.

With both pilots successfully evading each other,

the fight ends without a clear winner.

Having proved their skills, they're now ready to head

to RAF Akrotiri in just a few days' time.

Dan did well, it was a good fight.

It was a draw? It was a draw.

Yeah, he did... He did all right.

Obviously, I won.

He didn't say that. Did he not?

No. HE LAUGHS

He said it was a draw.

He said it was a draw?

Whatever he needs to believe.

11 Squadron boss, Robbo, is leading wingman, Josh,

above Syria for the first time.

They're approaching the American base where three US troops

were recently killed by militants.

Flying a fighter jet, a Typhoon, on my own,

over the top of a war zone, it is nerve-racking.

RADIO BEEPS

I'm sitting there on my combat air patrol,

I'm acutely aware that this is the first time in Syria on task.

So, if something comes over the radio now, a task for me, I am it.

Using their sensors, the Typhoons are surveying the ground

for signs of militants, or hostile aircraft in the skies.

You do feel a little bit nervous, seeing this stuff for real,

doing the job for real that you've trained for a long time to do.

The buck stops with you.

RADIO CRACKLES

Coalition radar analysts have spotted

a suspicious aircraft nearby.

In contravention of international rules,

it's masking its identity.

Seeing some stuff come up on our radar is potentially a bit weird.

The biggest cause for concern is that unknown.

We need to find out what this bogey contact is.

If we've got Russian jets around, they could start World War III.

Above Syria, coalition radar systems have spotted an unidentified plane.

RADIO BEEPS

11 Squadron boss, Robbo, must decide what action to take,

with rookie pilot Josh flying alongside.

I'm paid to make the judgments as

to whether my pilots are good enough to do certain things.

I think the best bit of advice you can give a junior pilot

on their operational mission, it's probably not so much advice,

it's reassurance.

There's definitely that air of excitement.

I was like, "Oh, here we go."

I'm flying straight towards the bogey to try and get

a better idea of what it is,

then my radar manages to get a better lock and, suddenly,

I can see exactly who it belongs to.

I quite clearly see that it was IL76, so a big, Russian aircraft.

An IL76, known as a "Candid" by its Nato codeword,

is one of Russia's biggest armoured military jets.

To see that in the flesh...

This thing is massive.

..it does make you actually stop and think what are they up to?

Knowing what's happened on the ground to the American forces,

our job now is to keep them away from the area, basically.

Josh and Robbo must track the Candid,

ensuring it can't fly close to the nearby US base

and collect intelligence on the recent attack.

We don't want Russian military aircraft to get too close

as it can get very dangerous.

There's a risk of escalation.

As the typhoons hold the line,

keeping the Russians away from the Americans...

..another aircraft is spotted on the radar.

The presence of two Candids is rare.

Capable of transporting troops and heavy military hardware,

Putin's forces appear to be relocating in large numbers.

Two Candids in one piece of airspace leaves me

with my hands pretty full.

Keeping tabs on them and making sure they don't go near

the Americans will take all of my focus.

The reason we're in Syria is to prevent the resurgence of ISIS.

But we're actually also watching what the Russians are doing.

Like any military's activities, they're secretive.

So, any big opportunity to see what they're up to is crucial.

The Russian jets are heading towards one

of their Syrian bases.

A detailed log of their movements will now be passed on

to military intelligence.

One of the most important things we can do in any military operation

is understand the battlespace and what's going on.

And our monitoring of the air and ground picture

forms a big part of that.

Under Robbo's supervision,

Josh's first mission over Syria could provide key intelligence

about Putin's activity in the region.

It just builds into the bigger intelligence picture

of what's going on in Iraq and Syria.

To actually be there doing it, just felt like I finally made it

in the career that I wanted to do.

I do feel very proud.

It's a nice moment, his first operational mission,

he did really well.

Naturally quite nervous but he was in the right place

at the right time, on the right frequency, can't ask for any more.

He did a great job.

You know, I remember my first mission, as a junior pilot,

I didn't really sleep the night before.

You're thinking about the what ifs,

you don't want to let yourself down, you don't want to let the boss down.

And now my time in the cockpit is literally flying away.

So, I'm going to cherish every minute left.

But also, it's a privilege helping the next generation

of pilots coming through the system.

It's still always in the back of your mind

that you're flying with the boss.

You don't want to screw up, you want him to have a good opinion of you.

So, it's nice that he takes the time to make you feel comfortable,

to make you feel at ease so you can perform the best.

I definitely had that today.

That's pretty cool.

With overseas deployments expected every year,

Josh will have countless more flights on the front line.

But for Robbo, just a handful remain.

It's been an amazing career so far.

So, when those wheels finally touch the touch the ground

and the chocks go in,

realising that you've flown your last operational mission,

it's going to be quite...

..quite an emotional feeling.

But we'll look forward to the next challenge, whatever that is.

Can you please turn off the ASP lights?

The RAF struggle to keep their new jet secret.

Happy to move, just have to be quick.

We've got eyes on a man-made cave entrance.

And a reaper spy drone hunts down terrorists who've gone underground.

Trying to get us a low angle look underneath.

Holy shit.

We've actually found ISIS.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media