Centred on RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, UK, 10-30 September.
Report by Peter Davison and Colin Coulthard
This multinational exercise centred on Waddington but utilised assets from across the country. The based participants included eight CF188 Hornets from the Royal Canadian Air Force, Six F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Polish Air Force and six Finnish Air Force Hornets. These were complemented by eight Norwegian Air Force F-35s based at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk operating beside USAF examples plus the based 48th FW F-15s. At neighbouring Mildenhall were nine F-16s visiting from Aviano air base in Italy. Numerous missions were flown, particularly in week one when good weather prevailed.
The exercise rehearsed a range of complex scenarios focusing on developing tactics and strategies to counter threats including crisis and conflict situations that could be encountered in operations. The UK forces trained alongside personnel from Germany, Israel and Italy. Several Israeli F-15s flew from overseas with Italian and German Eurofighters also participating.
RAF Waddington is to be congratulated on providing the general public, and photographers with secure opportunities to view the action from various perimeter viewpoints. This included providing an overflow parking zone in addition to the excellent WAVE facility on the A15. Given the workload preparing the base they even trimmed a perimeter hedge allowing safe viewing and controlled random parking and its associated safety risks.
ISTAR, radar and refuelling assets performed well with flying operations over the Spadeadam Range with some coastal areas even issuing noise advisories using local media; it was even suggested that the F-35 could merely deafen the opposition rather than using weapon systems!
Other RAF bases also participated, Coningsby and Lossiemouth with Typhoons and Marham with F-35s. Brize Norton, Leeming and Odiham also contributed to the exercise.
