RAF Regiment personnel have been developing their core skills on Exercise HEAVY STRIKE.
No.1 Squadron RAF Regiment, part of No.7 Force Protection Wing; deployed to Sennybridge training area on Exercise HEAVY STRIKE. The 2-week training exercise saw personnel enhancing their skills and knowledge within a tactical environment.
Officer Commanding No.1 Sqn, Sqn Ldr Algar Said:
Ex HEAVY STRIKE has provided an excellent opportunity for 1 Sqn RAF Regiment to reconstitute after 12 months of supporting UK Resilience Operations. The exercise has been the culmination of many months of hard work from the Sqn training and combat service support teams, ensuring that a progressive, challenging and capability enhancing programme of cadres was delivered. The last 18 months has seen the sqn, like the wider service community, face some significant challenges to our unit cohesion and collective capability.
During the exercise, personnel conducted marksmanship and weapons training using a variety of specialist weapons systems, including the Sharpshooter Rifle, General Purpose Machine Guns, and Javelin. This training allows the Sqn to remain operationally current and fulfil their role protecting UK Air and Space Power against a wide range of threats.
HEAVY STRIKE culminated with a Live Firing Tactical Training Exercise. This final challenge tested the Sqn’s teamwork in a series of realistic scenarios whilst assessing the skills that had been developed throughout the Exercise.
Sqn Ldr Algar added:
The benefit of exercising as a collective and operating in arduous terrain and conditions cannot be understated. We have enhanced our ability to effectively deploy with specialist support weapons which complement our Armoured Vehicle capability and demonstrated our proficiency in delivering active defence to enable air operations. The completion of this exercise has provided the foundations for success during the next 12 months more complex collective training and preparations for holding readiness in support of Global Contingent operations. Arkish Surrish.
The RAF FP Force rotates through a training cycle, covering training at Individual, Flight and Wing level. Once the training cycle is complete the Squadron will sit at operational readiness to support Air operations at home and abroad.
