A major RAF training exercise in Stornoway has been hailed a success.
RAF Lossiemouth took part in the operation as part of the development of Agile Combat Employment (ACE), which aims to enable the service to operate from a greater number of locations.
This would mean they could be more flexible and resilient.
Following the successful week, they thanked both the town of Stornoway and the airport specifically for their hospitality.
Wing Commander Duncan Clark said: “I would like to pass a massive thanks to Stornoway, both the town but particularly the airport for allowing us to exercise from here.
“We have been here as their guests; they have been excellent hosts. I would also like to thank 7th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland who have help support us as well.”
What were RAF Lossiemouth doing in Stornoway?
The exercise, known as Exercise Agile Pirate, had personnel and aircraft rearming and refuelling Typhoon jets away from a main operating base.
Around 60 personnel were flown to Stornoway by A400M, the RAF’s newest transport aircraft.
They practiced their ability to sustain and regenerate an aircraft in a temporary location on an RAF Lossiemouth based 6 Squadron and an A400M from RAF Brize Norton.
Wg Cdr Clark added: “We have proven the ability to receive, rearm, refuel and regenerate a pair of Typhoon aircraft. During the week an A400M flew in with personnel and equipment, we took fuel from that aircraft to put into the Typhoon.
“At the same time engineers from 6 Squadron rearmed and serviced the aircraft for its next sortie, while the pilots took advantage of the deployed communications at the location to reach back to their headquarters and prepare for their next mission.”
More exercises like this will be carried out over the next three years.
Increased flexibility
Air Officer Commanding 2 group Air Vice Marshal Suraya Marshall explained why ACE training would help the RAF.
She said: “We are looking ahead at the ways we may want to operate, it’s a recognition that over the last two decades we have deployed overseas and operated from very well-founded bases.
“In this increasingly complex and congested world, we want to be more agile and adaptable, we may want to send smaller elements of capabilities to austere operating locations and enable them to deliver a full range of affects.”
Stornoway was chosen for the exercise due to its remoteness, which removed easy solutions and the option to deploy from main operating bases.