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Military spokesman Major General John Lorimer says all aircraft returned safely to the UK
The UK Ministry of Defence has said it is "entirely comfortable" with the outcome of the airstrikes on Libya.
RAF Tornados flew from Norfolk to carry out a bombing mission which concentrated on targets around Tripoli. France, the US, Canada and Italy have also joined the UN-backed operation to protect civilians from attacks by Col Gaddafi's forces.
RAF Typhoon and Tornado jets are to be deployed to a military base in southern Italy, Defence Secretary Liam Fox said.
Saturday's operation, which targeted an "integrated air defence system" in Libya, was the longest range bombing mission carried out by the RAF since the 1982 Falklands War.
'Successful' The UK also launched Tomahawk missiles from a Trafalgar class Royal Navy submarine, which were aimed at targets around the coastal cities of Tripoli and Misrata.
Dr Fox said early indications suggested the operation was "very successful".
There would be further air strikes, "if necessary", in the coming days with the aim of "paralysing" the regime's ability to attack its people, he added - while confirming RAF jets would be moving to the Gioia del Colle base in southern Italy, where they would be based.
"It is obviously easier if we have access to bases closer to where the targets are and where the no-fly zone is," he told the BBC's Politics Show
Asked how long the campaign would take, he said he hoped it would be over as "quickly as possible".
But he added: "That is dependent on how quickly Gaddafi recognises that the game is up."
The Chief of Defence Staff's strategic communications officer Maj Gen John Lorimer said the targets had been carefully selected and they were "entirely comfortable" with what had been achieved.
He explained that the UK forces were under the command of the US, as were all the other participants.
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Col Gaddafi and his forces should already be feeling the initial effects of the coalition's military action.
French jets began the bombing, targeting his forces' tanks and jeeps. The first British strikes were not from the air but from the sea, firing Tomahawk missiles - in co-ordination with the US - aimed at Libya's air defences.
Those strikes should remove at least some of the potential threat to British fighter jets now ready for action. RAF Tornados are a key part of this international coalition, and will be used to strike targets on the ground such as tanks threatening civilians or Col Gaddafi's command and control capability.
The international coalition is pulling together a huge range of military assets from many different nations - with jets arriving by the hour at the bases they'll fly from.
All this has to be commanded with extreme care. Commanders are all too aware of the many risks, not least of civilian casualties and hurting the very people the mission is supposed to help.
The coalition's hope is that by striking hard and fast now, forces still loyal to Col Gaddafi will think again - along with, perhaps, the colonel himself.
Analysis
French jets began the bombing, targeting his forces' tanks and jeeps. The first British strikes were not from the air but from the sea, firing Tomahawk missiles - in co-ordination with the US - aimed at Libya's air defences.
Those strikes should remove at least some of the potential threat to British fighter jets now ready for action. RAF Tornados are a key part of this international coalition, and will be used to strike targets on the ground such as tanks threatening civilians or Col Gaddafi's command and control capability.
The international coalition is pulling together a huge range of military assets from many different nations - with jets arriving by the hour at the bases they'll fly from.
All this has to be commanded with extreme care. Commanders are all too aware of the many risks, not least of civilian casualties and hurting the very people the mission is supposed to help.
The coalition's hope is that by striking hard and fast now, forces still loyal to Col Gaddafi will think again - along with, perhaps, the colonel himself.
He would not confirm if the Libyan air force had been destroyed but said: "It's fair to say that there is a threat, we always have to be aware that there may remain a threat."
The operation was supported by VC10 and Tristar air-to-air refuelling aircraft as well as E3D Sentry and Sentinel surveillance aircraft while HMS Westminster remains off the coast of Libya and HMS Cumberland is in the region ready to support operations.'Just cause' Libyan state TV reported that what it called the "crusader enemy" had bombed civilian areas of Tripoli, as well as fuel storage tanks supplying the western city of Misrata.
A Libyan government spokesman described the coalition attacks as "aggression without excuse" and claimed Col Gaddafi had accepted the UN resolution and declared a ceasefire.
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Tomahawk missile
- Long-range weapon designed to hit strategic targets with the minimum of collateral damage
- Able to deliver 1,000lb (450kg) warhead to a range of about 1,000 miles (1,600km)
- Can fly at low or high altitude
He claimed many civilians had been hurt and said ambulance crews had been "doing their best to save as many lives as possible".
After hosting a meeting of the government's emergency management committee Cobra in Downing Street, Mr Cameron said: "British forces are in action over Libya. They are part of an international coalition to enforce the will of the United Nations."We have all seen the appalling brutality meted out by Col Gaddafi against his own people."
It was a "just cause" and in "Britain's best interests", he added.
Labour leader Ed Miliband said it was right for the UK to be participating in the military operation in order to "support the will of the international commuity".
"It is always a grave decision to send our armed forces into possible combat. But the international community could not have stood by as innocent people were slaughtered."
'Ignored warning' The former British ambassador to Libya, Oliver Miles, told the BBC it was clear the long-term aim of the military action was to overthrow Col Gaddafi.
While the UN resolution does not allow for regime change, Foreign Secretary William Hague said he could not see a future with Col Gaddafi in charge. "We want him to go", he told Sky News.
A British journalist was being held by Libyan authorities in the capital Tripoli, Arab television station Al Jazeera revealed on Saturday night.
Cameraman Kamel Atalua was detained with a fellow cameraman and two correspondents, after the team had been reporting from Libya for several days.
The military action follows the passing of a UN resolution imposing a ban on all flights in Libyan airspace, excluding aid flights, and authorises member states to "take all necessary measures" to "protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12799493