The loud screech of a Typhoon and F-35 jet rips through the night sky above RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. It's followed by the heavier rumble of the larger refuelling aircraft that will join its mission - hunting down Iranian drones.
The RAF Voyager is the giant petrol station in the sky for the Typhoon and F-35 jets which have been patrolling the skies over Cyprus and Jordan for the past month.
The BBC is among the first news outlets to witness these defensive missions in the air being conducted day and night, ever since the US and Israel began their bombing campaign against Iran.
From the cockpit of the Voyager we watched the shimmering lights of Cyprus fade into the distance. We were getting closer to the coast of Israel and Lebanon.
From that direction we see a brief flash of orange light. One of the crew points to it and tells me: "Quite often you can see either incoming missiles from Iran or the Israeli response."
