A Royal Air Force Atlas transport aircraft has flown from Oxfordshire to Morocco to parachute essential supplies to British soldiers on the ground, in what the RAF say here is the longest-range airdrop performed by the RAF’s Atlas Force.

According to a news release:

“The Atlas C1 (A400M) departed from RAF Brize Norton and a few hours later was 1,400 miles away dropping multiple packages to a small drop zone near Marrakech. Once on the ground the packages, known as Container Delivery Systems or CDS, were collected by paratroopers from the British Army’s 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, known as 2 Para, as part of Exercise Jebel Sahara.”

Flight Lieutenant Kay, Co-pilot, was quoted as saying: 

“The large and agile Atlas was operated by pilots and load masters from 30 and LXX Squadrons based RAF Brize Norton. This is the first long-range insertion of Container Delivery Systems by Atlas, showing the aircraft’s reach and speed, and its capability to deliver large and heavy cargo to a precise coordinate without landing.

We can deliver wherever help is needed, such as humanitarian aid, flood relief, or in this case, military resupply. Sometimes to deliver by road or sea would take too long or is just not possible, and Atlas has the ability to deliver over long distances, quickly and with precision.”

The RAF add that the three-week exercise near Marrakesh has “provided an opportunity for the paratroopers to learn from the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces’ experience of operating in the hot, dry and demanding conditions of the desert. In return, 2 Para have shared their hard-earned skills in patrolling, both on foot and in vehicles, as well as marksmanship, demolitions and casualty care.”

You can read more from the RAF here.

George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison

14 COMMENTS

  1. Hi folks hope all is well.
    Always great to see these articles. I presume in the event of a hot engagement the Atlas would have fighters escorting to the drop zone providing protection. Would this be included in this particular event as an extra exercise!
    Cheers,
    George

  2. I experienced something similar when I was based in Dhekelia, unfortunately we didn’t have the RAF come to our rescue:
    So we are on exercise in Jordan and the infantry unit us Corps blokes are supporting had broken a Mortar base plate , so they got on the blower to their RHQ back in Cyprus for a replacement and one was flown out on a civy airline, problem was it was addressed to the CQMS and the Jordanian customs refused to hand it over to the CQMs. Because, they wanted to see a passport made out to a CQMS

    So I’m asked if I would like to drive up to Amman and try my luck seeing as I have the gift of the gab and a similar skin tone to the natives.
    So armed with the correct paperwork, I set off, I pop into the nearby Jordanian army camp and requisition an English speaker (told you I had the gift of the gab) So we drive up to the main airport (a good 2 to 3 hour trip) and in order to put the pressganged Jordanian in a good mode, I purchase lunch at some dive of a cooked chicken outlet, where the food was to die for, so airport, park up and I’m stood in this byzantine street market which I am told is the customs hall for incoming cargo. Whilst we are waiting , I notice this skinny scruffy Catweazle of a jundie, watching me with interest (I’m in deserts) anyway he moves closer and starts trying to snatch my passport out of my hand, after a few failed attempts, me sick of his badgering , grabs him by the neck , and pins him to the wall followed by the exclamation:
    “What’s your F-ing problem?”
    He terrified, pulls out an ID from inside his jacket, shakenlyand utters…”Secret Police”
    All I could think of at the time, was.. ”Bloody Hell, they are going to lock me away, throw away the key and rodger me sideways” anyway not one to admit defeat, keeping a straight face I called over my pressganged Jordanian and first of all asked him why didn’t he warn me off, he replied, but everybody knows who the secret police are, kind of explained why people kept well away from him, and told him to inform Catweazle our problem and that I wanted him to sort it out and guess what he did. We were taken upstairs away from the crowds and straight to the man in charge, explained the situation via my English speaker and after signing lots of paperwork and a lot of red wax stamps, I ended up loading said mortar base plate into the back of the motor and leaving the airport as fast as possible before somebody changed their mind.
    The infantry unit, couldn’t believe their eyes when I got back , but then they are infantry.

      • If there is a hot LZ, someone would be tasked to provide CAS? AAC, RAF, RN or some NATO affiliated organization? Presume HMG/MoD will authorize purchase of at least six Atlas C1s to replace Hercs?

        • The CAS question is not my subject area, this is one for Airborne.

          Atlas is of course cleared for paratroop jumps and the French first did a para drop in early 2019. We did our first one early last month -https://www.thedefensepost.com/2022/10/05/uk-army-parachute-atlas/

          RAF has 21 Atlas a/c and should get 1 to 3 more – they do of course replace Hercs.

    • Hi Farouk
      Great story…… bring that forward to 2022
      Screams of racism over skin colour. Army brutality over abusing the secret police
      & health and safety loading a base plate that’s not secured to a plate …. and no forklift……..haha
      Thanks Ian

  3. Great to see A400M extending its usage in RAF hands. Intimately involved in the life of this programme from 1998 when it was still the FLA right through to introducing it into RAF service in 2014 and onto my retirement in 2018. I led a great team at Brize who were the real heroes of the difficult entry to service. Great machine in very capable hands with a great future

  4. “Atlas crosses continent to parachute in supplies ….”. I suppose this is as much a milestone on the roadmap for the A400 in RAF service as it is a suitable headline for this article. I presume when it has demonstrated it can do all the things the C-130 can this signals the green light for increasing the A400 fleet?

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