A detachment from the RAF has completed a busy two-week flying programme in which over 112 sorties were flown involving UK and Omani Typhoons, RAF Voyager and Omani F-16 jets in the Air Exercise area in Dhofar Governorate, Oman.
Typhoons from II (Army Cooperation) Squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth and 12 Squadron based RAF Coningsby flew multiple air-to-ground and air-to-air missions during the challenging exercise. The Voyager from RAF Brize Norton provided air-to-air refuelling of RAF and Royal Air Force of Oman Typhoon jets. The detachment included over 300 RAF support personnel working night and day to ensure that the jets were available to fly a wide range of exercise scenarios, testing pilots, engineers and ground crew.
"It has been an amazing experience testing our skills in the heat of Oman. I am proud to lead a fantastic group of professionals all of whom have contributed to making this Exercise a success. We would not have been able to achieve the amount and variety of sorties without working together with our Omani colleagues."
Officer Commanding II(AC) Squadron
Detachment Commander
As well as sorties, nearly 22,400 meals were served to the 320 personnel by 3 Mobile Catering Squadron.
The exercise strengthens the RAF’s role as a key partner for Oman, demonstrates its ability to deploy world class capabilities and deliver high quality training opportunities. The Exercise provides further evidence of the United Kingdom’s integrated approach to defence and foreign policy and the UK’s enduring commitment to working with Oman and Gulf partners on promoting regional security and stability.