The Royal Air Force (RAF) has participated in NATO’s largest air exercise of the year, known as Exercise Air Defender, with the RAF deploying Typhoon jets to Hohn Air Base in Germany.
The exercise involved approximately 250 aircraft from 25 different nations.
The Typhoons were provided by the 140 Expeditionary Air Wing (EAW), which is presently executing NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission in Estonia, and the 903 EAW stationed at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The exercise also featured F-35Bs from 617 Squadron and a Voyager aircraft based at RAF Brize Norton for air-to-air refuelling.
“The RAF is demonstrating its agility and flexibility to deploy personnel and air assets, including F35, Voyager and Typhoon, from various UK and deployed locations,” commented Air Marshal Sir Harvey Smith, the RAF’s Air & Space Commander. He also highlighted that Exercise Air Defender is an exceptional opportunity to “showcase our ability to perform Agile Combat Employment deployments alongside our NATO Allies.” Sir Harvey emphasised the importance of learning from partner nations to enhance the RAF’s contribution to multinational air operations.
The US Air National Guard also made a significant contribution to the exercise, marking its largest forward deployment since the Cold War.
The primary objective of Exercise Air Defender was to evaluate NATO’s collective aerial response capabilities in the event of an attack on a member state. It included realistic live-flying exercises aimed at fostering interoperability and cooperation among the participating nations.
Squadron Leader Edward Owen, commanding the 140 EAW Detachment in Germany, stated, “This deployment of air assets is a clear message of the credible defence that our combined air power can present to any potential adversary.”
At the end of the exercise, the RAF Typhoons from 903 EAW returned to Cyprus to continue Operation Shader, while those from 140 EAW returned to Estonia. The 140 EAW is scheduled to hand over its NATO mission in Estonia to the Spanish Air Force in August.
amazing exercise – brilliant for photo shoots…and not much else.
Frost002 – brilliant for sad chuff, and not much else. It’s ok, not everyone can join the army and failing the medical is ok, there’s more you can do I’m sure! Chin up, be brave.
Nato. Membership is strictly anti Russian. The treaty of versailles all over again. Nato encourages an aggressive Russia. Will lead to nuclear weapon use in Europe. Sorry, I know the macho types in the west like a little conventional war, but the wounded dog will soon attack with whatever he has left. Take out Brize with 1 nuke. Uk military finished. That is the reality coming in 2024/5.
So you don’t think any nation has the choice to request and join NATO if they want? If you want to appease the bully as your a bit scared that’s fine, live your life like that if you want, your call!
“Russia is part of European culture. And I cannot imagine my own country in isolation from Europe and what we often call the civilised world. So it is hard for me to visualise NATO as an enemy,” said Vladimir Putin back in 2000, three weeks before the election which made him president.
The same year, according to the then-NATO chief George Robertson, Putin bluntly asked: “When are you going to invite us to join NATO?” Robertson advised the Russian president that he needs to “apply to join NATO” and not expect an invitation.
No real military people would bother with this forum, they would rather live it. And when not living it, they don’t talk about it. How is the cadets these days?
1 out of 10 for your response, you must try harder!
The German news org “Deutsche Welle” has knocked out a most informative article on the above Air Defender 23. Well worth reading and the enclosed video and map are worth looking at.
JIMK are you aware of this: France uncovers sophisticated Russian disinformation campaign June 13 (UPI) — The French government says it has uncovered a sophisticated Russian disinformation campaign targeting multiple European states in an effort to diminish western support for Ukraine. “The Service for Vigilance and Protection against Foreign Digital Interference [VIGINUM] has identified a digital information manipulation campaign targeted against several European states since September 2022, including France,” the General Secretariat for Defense and National Security said in a press release Tuesday. “This manipulation campaign, tracked by VIGINUM for a year, has the objective of discrediting western support for… Read more »
Yaaaaaaawn try again! Anyway now you’re awake, any chance of condemning the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Putin and his Jim will fix it for them lizards? No, thought not as your not allowed!
JIMK, You have often stated that the Russians have superiour fire power when it comes to artillery , here is a picture of a field post Russian strike. https://i.postimg.cc/SxKycVsw/49dc760-fields-peppered-with-hundreds-of-artillery-craters-06-06-22-maxar-original.jpg Looks the part doesnt it,total devastation, top left corner, I have counted (in red) 100 impact sites. So how many rounds did the Russian blat into that empty field (I say empty as there is no wreakage whats-so ever, or even bodies) I’m not saying that the Russians have only targeted open fields, far from it, seeing as they have killed more Ukrainians with artillery than anything else. But here they… Read more »
Part 2:
Here is a short video of a HIMARS strike on a couple of Russian 152mm Mstra SPG (The current heavyweight SPG for the Russian military)
Two missiles, two hits, two destroyed Russian Mstra SPGs.
and it isnt a one off
Part 3
Here is video of that HIMARS strike which took out around 100 Russian soldiers.
My point the Russians may have more big guns than the Ukrainians, and they may have expended more ammo than the stocks held by NATO period. But the salient fact remains fighting smarter is much more effective, than throwing everything bar the kitchen sink at your enemy)
I asked you a question on a previous thread but you forgot to answer, so I’ll ask again : Just how in denial of facts do you have to be to overlook the nakedly expansionist aims of Russia’s invasion, its promotion of a narrow ethnic Russian nationalist agenda,and the vilification of any other culture, the harassment, imprisonment, torture and murder of political opposition, the constant aggression against neighbours, the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure, the casual, summary rape, torture and execution of Ukrainian civilians, the abduction of children, the filtration camps, the use of proxy, extremist militias, punishment without trial,… Read more »
NATO jets including the world’s only genuine stealth fighters f22 f35 with all the integrated tools and knowledge I doubt very much the Russian airforce would ever take off and try to combat such a overwhelming force well anyway not for long it would end up the biggest easiest Turkey shoot of all time .
Am confident this war in Ukraine would have been over in few weeks had Maybe a mixed bunch of say 50 typhoons and F35 and large scale use of shadow storm taking out Russian military assets in the mother land…The old rusty defenceless Russian navy could easily be moped up in minutes if aggressively attacked with 3 or 4 àf35 .