The British pilot who gunned down an Iranian drone over Jordan celebrated with a beer at sunrise.
The RAF officer flew for four hours alongside two Typhoons before destroying two drones with Asraam missiles on Monday evening, marking the first time an RAF F-35 jet has shot down a target during the conflict with Iran.
He also became the first pilot from the RAF’s stealth fighter jet to destroy a target in combat.
The pilot, who has not been named for security reasons, said he sipped a local Cypriot Keo beer at sunrise in celebration before getting ‘back on to to doing the job again’.
Speaking about it for the first time, he said: ‘We had one beer at sunrise and then I had to go to bed because I was on duty the next day. We’re kind of a pretty high operational temp at the moment.
‘So, when this is all over, whenever it ends, and then I’m sure we’ll celebrate appropriately.’
Asked about the feeling when he inflicted the blow, he said: ‘You are kind of more concerned about making sure you’ve shot the right thing. Making sure you positioned the aircraft in the right places.
‘It’s not a euphoric sense of success. I suppose. I just get out the way and get back on to doing the job again.’
The British pilot who gunned down an Iranian drone (pictured with Defence Secretary John Healey) over Jordan celebrated with a beer at sunrise
It marked the first time an RAF F-35 jet (pictured) has shot down a target during the conflict with Iran
He also said he feared shooting a friendly target by mistake and worried about what else could be out in the sky.
The drone was downed just hours after a sole Kuwaiti pilot flying an American-made fighter jet mistakenly shot down three US F-15 planes.
The F/A-18 pilot launched three missiles against the American planes, sources familiar with initial reports of the incident told the Wall Street Journal.
The American pilots were forced to eject to safety after the Kuwaiti pilot mistook their F-15E Strike Eagles for Iranian jets on Monday morning – costing US forces $300million to replace the damaged planes.
That came a day after a British base in Cyprus was hit by a drone
RAF Akroitiri was hit by a drone fired from Lebanon on Sunday, raising major concerns about the standard of local air defences.
Officials said the damage was minor, but it was revealed the drone hit a hangar used by the US for U2 spy planes flying high-altitude reconnaissance missions.
Around 400 additional British troops are believed to have been sent to Cyprus as the UK continues its ‘defensive’ activities in the region.
And on Thursday, Defence Secretary John Healey refused to rule out British UK aircrafts taking part in strikes on Iran.
Speaking at RAF Akrotiri, he said: ‘As circumstances in any conflict change, you’ve got to be willing to adapt the action you take.
‘I’m doing that by bringing in anti-drone helicopters overnight, I’m doing that in the next couple of weeks to bring in the Type 45 air defence destroyer.’
Should the UK take a tougher stance against Iran or focus on keeping out of further conflict?
Defence Secretary John Healey refused to rule out British UK aircrafts taking part in strikes on Iran
Pressed on British involvement, Mr Healey added: ‘Everything that we have done is defensive, is legal and is coordinated with other allies.’
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has not denied calling Sir Keir Starmer a ‘loser’ as he continues to fume at the Prime Minister for failing to back his military action against Iran.
The US President is furious at Sir Keir for his refusal to allow American jets to launch offensive strikes on Tehran from British bases.
In an interview with the New York Post, Mr Trump issued a fresh blast at the PM by saying the UK had been ‘very disappointing’.
Asked about explosive claims he had called Sir Keir a ‘loser’ in private conversations, the US President did not deny the reports.
‘Well, he’s not Winston Churchill, let me put it that way,’ Mr Trump replied, as he repeated an attack on the PM he also made earlier in the week.
He said he was ‘very surprised’ at Sir Keir and ‘very disappointed’, adding: ‘I get along with him fine. But he sometimes doesn’t do things that he should be doing.’
It came as Sir Keir swiped at Mr Trump for plunging the Middle East into ‘chaos’ and admitted the US President has been giving him the silent treatment.
In a Downing Street press conference, the PM played down a mounting backlash over Britain’s lack of military preparations and the meltdown in the Special Relationship.
Standing by his decision to stop the US carrying out ‘offensive’ airstrikes on Iran from UK bases, Sir Keir said he was providing ‘calm, level-headed leadership’ and appealed for the nation to ‘come together’.
He also argued that the UK had been deploying resources such as anti-aircraft missiles to the region since December, despite anger at the apparent inability to protect a crucial Cyprus base from Iranian reprisals.
The premier said helicopters with capability to shoot down missiles and drones would be arriving in the Mediterranean tomorrow, and more Typhoon jets were being deployed to Qatar.
‘While the region has been plunged into chaos, my focus is providing calm, level-headed leadership in the national interest,’ Sir Keir said.
Bracing Brits for looming pain from spiking energy costs, he added: ‘This conflict could continue for some time.’