Operation Shader

Operation Shader is the operational code name given to the contribution of the United Kingdom in the ongoing military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The operation involves the British Army providing ground support and training to allied forces fighting against ISIL, the Royal Air Force providing humanitarian aid airdrops, reconnaissance and airstrikes, and the Royal Navy providing reconnaissance and airstrikes from the UK Carrier Strike group and escort to allied carrier battle groups.

Additionally, UK Special Forces have reportedly operated in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

By January 2019, the Ministry of Defence stated that 1,700 British airstrikes had killed or injured 4,315 enemy fighters in Iraq and Syria, with one civilian casualty. The RAF had also delivered £230 million worth of humanitarian aid. Overall, the operation had resulted in a net cost of £1.75 billion. The number of airstrikes carried out in Iraq and Syria has been second only to the United States, with a report that the Royal Air Force has conducted 20 per cent of all airstrikes. The operation is the most intense flying mission the RAF has undertaken in 25 years.

On 28 September 2024 the Ministry of Defence announced that British jets will cease strike operations over Iraq and Syria following the conclusion of the Global Coalition's military mission against Daesh, which will draw to a close over the next 12 months.

In 2014, the militant group Islamic State made vast territorial gains in Iraq and Syria following several offensives. It declared its captured territory a caliphate within which it enforced a strict interpretation of Sharia. The group, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the United Nations, received widespread condemnation for its human rights abuses and crimes against humanity. The Iraqi government formally requested the United States and wider international community to carry out airstrikes against ISIL in support of their fight on the ground. During the 2014 NATO summit in Wales, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Ministers of Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the United Kingdom to support a coalition to combat ISIL militarily and financially. The United States launched the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) on 17 October with the stated aim of degrading and destroying ISIL.

On 9 August 2014, following the genocide of Yazidis and other ethnic minorities by ISIL in northern Iraq, the British government deployed the Royal Air Force to conduct humanitarian aid airdrops. The first airdrop was conducted on 9 August, with two Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft, flying from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, airdropping bundles of aid into Mount Sinjar. A second airdrop on 12 August had to be aborted due to a perceived risk of injury to civilians. The airdrops were able to resume within 24 hours and two large consignments of aid were airdropped over Mount Sinjar. During the same day, the Ministry of Defence announced the deployment of Tornado GR4 strike aircraft to help coordinate the airdrops using their LITENING III reconnaissance pods; they were not authorized to conduct any airstrikes prior to Parliamentary approval. Four Chinook transport helicopters were also deployed alongside them to participate in any required refugee rescue missions. On 13 August 2014, two C-130 Hercules aircraft dropped a third round of humanitarian aid into Mount Sinjar. This was followed by a fourth and final round on 14 August, bringing the total number of humanitarian aid airdrops conducted by the RAF to seven. The UK suspended its humanitarian aid airdrops on 14 August 2014 due to the "improved humanitarian situation" in Mount Sinjar.

On 16 August 2014, following the suspension of humanitarian aid airdrops, the RAF began shifting its focus from humanitarian relief to surveillance. The Tornado GR4s, which were previously used to help coordinate humanitarian aid airdrops, were re-tasked to gather vital intelligence for anti-ISIL forces. A RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligence aircraft was also deployed on what was the type's first operational deployment since entering service. The aircraft was based at RAF Al Udeid in Qatar alongside American aircraft. In addition to Tornado and Rivet Joint, the RAF also deployed Reaper, Sentinel, Shadow and Sentry aircraft to fly surveillance missions over Iraq and Syria.

When asked whether the country would participate in airstrikes or send ground troops, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon stated: "We have not been asked to commit either combat troops on the ground – and we are not going to do that – and we have not been asked to join in other air strikes though we certainly welcome [them]".