October 21, 2014 5.09 pm This story is over 113 months old

RAF Waddington Reaper Squadron to pilot drones deployed to Syria

Reaper drones and Rivet Joint spy plane: Drones controlled from RAF Waddington will fly surveillance missions over Syria in the battle against Islamic State militants.

Drones controlled from RAF Waddington near Lincoln will fly surveillance missions over Syria in the UK battle against IS (Islamic State) militants, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

The Reaper drones are based in Afghanistan and are piloted by the 13 Reaper Squadron at RAF Waddington drone control centre. They will join UK Rivet Joint spy planes in Syria.

The deployment will see the aircraft gathering intelligence as the UK ramps up efforts to protect against terrorist threats.

Reapers are not authorised to use weapons in Syria and will provide situational awareness to the coalition allies who are combating IS.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said MPs would take part in a vote before any military action is taken, unless it is considered a humanitarian disaster.