RAF Typhoon fighter jets and Army Air Corps Apache helicopters
concluded a training exercise off the coast of Estonia on Friday,
in which they practiced firing their heavy machine guns and
advanced missiles at targets in the sea.
The exercise, named Spring Tempest, was conducted jointly with
Estonia and France and demonstrated the ability of the UK and its
Allies to deliver precision strikes while operating deep in enemy
battlespace.
The Apache attack helicopters, from the Army Air Corps Aviation
Taskforce (1AAC ATF), were armed for their mission with Hellfire
missiles, CRV7 rockets and 30mm rounds, while the Typhoon jets,
from 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW), were armed with Paveway IV
laser guided bombs and 27mm armour piercing rounds.
Wing Commander Scott MacColl, 140 Expeditionary Air
Wing’s Commanding Officer, said:
Exercise Spring Tempest has been an outstanding opportunity to
integrate effects across the Land, Maritime and Air domains.
Working with the Royal Navy and Army has allowed us to exercise
high-end skill sets, while enhancing interoperability across a
broad range of NATO allies.
The flexibility to operate effectively across differing
environments demonstrates our key contribution to collective
defence and regional security. As important, the scale of this
exercise further develops Alliance cohesion and cross nation
understanding.
The mission was supported by a Forward Air Controller, operating
nearby from a Wildcat helicopter. Both types of helicopter worked
in tandem with ground-based personnel to refuel and rearm before
transiting back to the mission area.
This training follows on from Exercise Spring Storm, the largest
annual military exercise in Estonia involving the UK-led NATO
enhanced Forward Presence (eFP), which saw more than 1,500
UK soldiers training alongside more than 10,000 personnel from 11
NATO countries.
At last year’s NATO Leaders Summit in Madrid, the UK committed to
increase the size of its contribution and capability, with this
year’s exercise marking the first time the UK has conducted a
brigade-level deployment to Estonia – involving hundreds more
personnel being deployed from the UK.
Land-based training exercises saw UK soldiers, deployed to
bolster the eFP under the Army’s Operation CABRIT, as well as
tanks and armoured vehicles, practicing live firing in a series
of different scenarios, conducting trench assaults,
reconnaissance missions, vehicle manoeuvres, and combined arms
warfare.
Commander of Op CABRIT, Brigadier Giles Harris,
said:
Exercise Spring Tempest clearly demonstrates the successful
integration of our land, aviation and air capabilities. It comes
as we end Exercise Spring Storm 2023, the largest iteration of
its kind with some 14,000 personnel taking part across land, sea
and air domains. Through rigorous training with our allies, we
prove we are a capable, flexible multinational force.
The Royal Navy’s amphibious assault ship, HMS Albion, carrying
approximately 550 sailors and Royal Marines, has joined up with
the RAF and the Army to take part in the NATO training exercises
happening in the region. During recent weeks, she
has landed marines from 45
Commando for a dawn beach raid exercise.
The ship and crew also supported a further training exercise last
weekend off the coast of Paldiski, which saw the three services
testing their capability in a fully-integrated manner. Typhoon
jets, Apache, and Wildcat helicopters flew in a tight, programmed
formation overhead, as the Royal Marines transported soldiers
from the Queen’s Royal Hussars and their 62-tonne main battle
tanks from the shore into HMS Albion’s dock.
Captain Marcus Hember, HMS Albion’s Commanding Officer,
said:
It is not often the Royal Navy, RAF and Army are in the same
place at the same time with major assets.
This gave us the opportunity to test how we can work together at
sea, proving again the Royal Navy can move Army heavy equipment
on and off a shoreline whilst being safely covered air by the RAF
and Army Air Corps.
The eFP provides a continuous NATO presence along its eastern
border, with deployed troops acting as a deterrence against any
aggression towards the Alliance’s borders.
The RAF has also been bolstering NATO’s presence, currently
leading the Alliance’s air policing mission in Estonia with more
than 200 personnel based at Amari Air Base, which has led to several
air intercepts of Russian aircraft by RAF fighter jets.
The operational activity underlines the UK’s commitment to
European security, which is vital to delivering on the Prime
Minister’s priority of growing the economy.
