RAF Marham Tornado’s help Rescue Services in flooded areas

The RAF is delighted to be able to use some of its normal UK training sorties to provide assistance to the local authorities dealing with floods. Both at York and in Gloucestershire. Aerial reconnaissance photographs were taken of the flooded area as part of the normal UK training. Aircrew from RAF Marham use the sorties as realistic training for reconnaissance tasks that they would normally do on operations overflying Iraq. The imagery also provided excellent training value for personnel at the Tactical Imagery Intelligence Wing based also at RAF Marham, in Norfolk. The preparing of the maps was also an excellent opportunity for Imagery Analysists to hone their skills in preparation for operations.

Group Captain Phil Osborn, Station Commander at RAF Marham said “What we have been trying to do is to give the emergency services as clear an idea as possible to the extent of the kind of devastation we have been seeing on the news. To also identify the communities that have remained isolated and help to identify the kind of trend in where the flood waters are going and think most importantly it allows them to focus their efforts in the most important areas. It gives them that overall picture on what to base their decisions on”.

Notes to Editor
Attached 3 maps which show the aerial imagery embedded on ordnance survey maps. Thus, giving civilian police and rescue services accurate maps to work with.

Maps provided by: Tactical Imagery Intelligence Wing, RAF Marham.

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