A beer at sunrise then back on duty – the British pilot who made RAF history shooting down Iranian drones

F-35 pilot based in Cyprus becomes first to destroy a target in combat – and celebrates with a single beerIn the clear skies above Jordan on Monday night, a British F-35 pilot made a small piece of history. Flying for four hours alongside two Typhoons, the radar picked up two Shahed drones. The squadron tactics instructor – whom the Guardian is not naming – hit the drones with two Asraam missiles.In doing so he became the first pilot of the Royal Air Force’s stealth fighter jet to destroy a target in combat. It was, he said, very high stakes. In those scenarios, it is easy to hit a friendly target by mistake. Continue reading…