IFC 2025: RAF Typhoons scored multiple air-to-air kills over Middle East in recent months, says official

A file photo of an RAF Eurofighter Typhoon launching an ASRAAM missile. An official has confirmed that four successful air-to-air engagements have been conducted over the Middle East in the past 18 months. (Crown Copyright)

UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 combat aircraft have scored multiple air-to-air kills on operations over the Middle East in recent months, an official confirmed on 6 November.

Speaking under the Chatham House Rule at the IQPC International Fighter Conference (IFC) 2025 in Rome, the official said that Typhoons had recorded four successful aerial engagements against unspecified aircraft since April 2024.

“[During the RAF's] recent contribution to security in the Middle East, [in] the last 18 months Typhoons had four successful air-to-air engagements against difficult air targets,” he said.

No further details of the engagements were given, but given the location and the timeline they likely concern the downing of one-way attack (OWA) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that were launched against Israel on the night of 13–14 April 2024.

It was reported at the time that RAF aircraft had been involved in the multinational effort to counter this massed attack that saw approximately 170 OWA UAVs, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles (according to the Israel Defense Forces) launched at Israel from the directions of Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen.

A UK documentary, Top Guns: Inside the RAF, screened in January credited the RAF that night with three OWA UAV kills. It is not clear if the fourth now revealed was from that event or not. The official did not identify any of the four targets, but they would likely be Iranian Shahed-136 OWA UAVs.