At 4:00 a.m. Syrian time, a total of 105 missiles rained down on a research center in Damascus as well as a storage site and a bunker 15 miles west of Homs, a city in western Syria. Britain launched eight Storm Shadow cruise missiles from the sky as France and the US provided support from the sea and jets. France fired 12 cruise missiles, three from a frigate and nine from aircraft, but the U.S. provided the bulk of the firepower with 85 missiles in total.

Britain’s involvement comprised of the Royal Air Force sending four Tornado GR4s to attack the Him Shinshar Chemical Weapons Storage Facility. These missiles have a maximum speed of mach 1.3 and are capable of carrying more than eight tonnes of weapons.

The GR4s involved in the overnight attack deployed eight “bunker busting” Storm Shadow cruise missiles.Weighing in at 2,866 pounds, measuring at 16.7ft in length and with a range in excess of 150 miles, they have been described by the air force as arguably the most advanced weapon of its kind in the world.

The Assad Regime fired 40 defensive missiles at thin air in a failed attempt to save the three Syrian chemical weapons sites destroyed by Allied air strikes.The attack targeted Syria from all sides: the Red Sea, North Arabian Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The three bases targeted were the Barzah Research and Development Centre in greater Damascus, the Him Shinshar Chemical Weapons Storage Facility and the Him Shinshar Chemical Weapons Bunker Facility

The American top general played down the Syrian response, and asked if there had been any Russian retaliation,

“We did have some initial surface-to-air missile activity from the Syrian regime,” General Joseph Dunford said.  “That’s the only retaliatory action we’re aware of at this time. We specifically identified these targets to mitigate the risk of Russian forces being involved.

We did not do any coordination with the Russians on the strikes, nor did we pre-notify them.”

Syrian state media had earlier claimed to have shot down 13 cruise missiles, but British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that last night’s airstrike against the Syrian regime was a highly successful mission.