Royal Air Force Typhoons from the UK and the Middle East have arrived at King Abdulaziz Air Base in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to take part in Exercise Spears of Victory.
Pilots, Engineers, and support personnel from RAF Lossiemouth, alongside specialists from across the RAF are deployed on the multi-national air warfare training exercise. The RAF join participants from, Bahrain, Greece, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, the USA, Kuwait, and the UAE, alongside several branches of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia military.
I am very happy to announce the beginning of Spears of Victory 2023, is an honour to welcome you all here [ to the Air Warfare Centre] Spears of Victory provides the opportunity for realistic training of intense aerial combat with your partners, where you can learn from each other, develop and exchange training tactics and procedures.
My first Exercise was in 1995, and to this day I meet with my colleagues as friends and some now generals some 28 years later. This will be an opportunity to train and learn together before one day you may operate together knowing you all sing from one song sheet. I wish you all a safe exercise and will see you at the in briefs; In sha'Allah.
Major General Khalid Al Harbi
Fighter aircraft including Typhoons, Tornados, F-15s, F-16s and JF-17, will take to the skies undertaking defensive counter and offensive counter air and air interdiction training against live and simulated threats, testing the reactions of pilots in a variety of situations. C-130s, Airborne Early Warning Systems and Helicopters from the Ministry of the Interior will also carry out specific missions training in the realistic airspace. Command and Control, mission planning and integration training provided by the exercise will assure a high level of training for all participants.
Exercise Spears of Victory is a fantastic training opportunity for the pilots, engineers, and other force enablers - working, planning, and flying alongside our international partners. The welcome at King Abdulaziz Air Base and the support in country has been fantastic and the facilities here will allow us to really make the most of this opportunity. This will be a busy deployment, operating at a high tempo alongside our international colleagues; I am confident the whole detachment will learn a great deal from the Exercise.
Squadron Leader Kingman
UK Detachment Commander
The exercise is designed to increase the tactical proficiency of all participating nations. Working together, the exercise develops participating nation’s ability to plan and execute complex missions together, in a testing desert environment.
