RAF Typhoon fighter jets and Army Air Corps Apache helicopters have taken part in a large scale training exercise, which included live firing.
The exercise, named Spring Tempest, was conducted jointly with Estonia and France to demonstrate the ability of the UK and its Allies to deliver precision strikes. The Typhoon jets, from 1 (Fighter) Squadron, part of the 140 Expeditionary Air Wing, were armed with Paveway IV laser guided bombs and 27mm armour piercing rounds, while the Apache attack helicopters, from the Army Air Corps Aviation Taskforce, were armed with Hellfire missiles, CRV7 rockets and 30mm rounds.
The Officer Commanding 140 EAW, Wing Commander Scott Maccoll explained how Exercise Spring Tempest had been an outstanding opportunity to integrate effects across the Land, Maritime and Air domains.
Working with the RN and Army has allowed the UK 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.
Wing Commander Scott Maccoll
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.
Also taking part in the exercise was the Royal Navy’s amphibious assault ship, HMS Albion, carrying around 550 sailors and Royal Marines, who as part of the exercise conducted a dawn beach raid and also testing the capability to fully integrated manner the Typhoon, Apache and Wildcat helicopters as cover while the Royal Marines transported the soldiers from the QRH and their Challenger 2 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 in the air by the RAF and Army Air Corps.
The British led NATO eFP provides a continuous presence along Estonia’s eastern border, with deployed troops acting as a deterrence against any aggression towards the Alliance’s borders. Currently the RAF has also been bolstering NATO’s presence, leading the Alliance’s air policing mission in Estonia with more than 200 personnel based at Amari Air Base.