MOD

ROYAL AIR FORCE TYPHOONS TEST NATO GROUND BASED AIR DEFENCE CAPABILITY

Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon aircraft have been playing their part in a multinational exercise to test NATO’s capability to command and control ground based systems to defend the skies.

RAF Typhoons are deployed to Romania as part of the NATO enhanced Air Policing in partnership with Romania. However there are other dimensions to securing the skies above NATO and the RAF has been playing its part with training sorties to help the UK, Romanian and US forces deployed on Exercise Tobruq Legacy at Capu Midia firing range near Constanta.

In the work up before live firing exercises one of the Typhoon pilots from 3(F) squadron said: “We gave them two targets today. We came at them from different angles and from different heights. We fly directly towards them. It gives them a chance to use the system to lock onto our aircraft and then we do a couple of evasive turns to test them to their maximum ability.”

He added: “It’s not an opportunity they are going to get very often to get to try and track and target a Typhoon. It’s a good opportunity to work across the nations.”

Exercise Tobruq Legacy is an NATO exercise involving 2200 personnel and over 800 vehicles in Lithuania, Romania and the Czech Republic. The purpose is to improve the level of interoperability of multinational Surface-Based Air and Missile Defence systems forces.

3(F) Squadron from Coningsby in Lincolnshire is deployed to Mihail Kogalniceanu air base near Constanta in Eastern Romania as part of the RAF’s 135 Expeditionary Air Wing on a NATO mission to enhance Air Policing over Romania.

Enhanced air policing is part of the Assurance Measures introduced in 2014 to reassure members how NATO provides the cornerstone of collective defence.

© MOD Crown Copyright 2017

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RAF LOSSIEMOUTH SUPPORTS MSP FACT FINDING MISSION

RAF Lossiemouth welcomed representatives of the Scottish Parliament to the UK’s most northerly fast jet fighter station today, Thursday, 27 July 2017.

The Presiding Officer, Members and Officials headed to the Moray better understand the range of social and welfare policies and how these affect armed forces families.

MSPs have already visited the Army’s Glencorse Barracks in Penicuik in June, and a visit to the Navy’s Royal Marine Commando site in Arbroath is planned for November.

Air Officer Scotland, Air Vice-Marshal Ross Paterson said:

“Our Parliamentary visitors will hear how RAF Lossiemouth’s Quick Reaction Alert interceptors help protect the nation’s airspace, and discover how £400m is being invested on site to make us ready for the arrival of our new Maritime Patrol Aircraft fleet, beginning in 2020.

“Most importantly, they will meet with our people and their families, including visiting our Childcare Centre, to better understand the particular needs of service families.

“This is an opportunity to showcase the contribution of the RAF in Scotland to both national security and also how we contribute to Scotland’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) agenda through our schools’ outreach programme.”

During their visit the Parliamentary group visited Typhoon flight simulators and aircraft, a parachute simulator and found out about the work of the RAF’s mountain rescue team.

Led by the Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer, Ken McIntosh MSP, and chief executive, Sir Paul Grice, the attending MSPs were:

· Bill Bowman, Con, North East Scotland

· Finlay Carson, Con, Galloway and West Dumfries

· Jackson Carlaw, Con, Eastwood

· Jamie Green, Con, West Scotland

· Daniel Johnson, Lab, Edinburgh Southern

· Richard Lochhead, SNP, Moray

· Lewis MacDonald, Lab, North East Scotland

· Graham Simpson, Lab, Central Scotland

© MOD Crown Copyright 2017

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