Senior RAF officer talks Europe’s premier air exercise

Exercise Cobra Warrior is the premier air exercise run by the Royal Air Force.

Taking place from February 24th to March 14th, it brings together over 50 aircraft from various nations and multiple RAF stations across the United Kingdom, including RAF Waddington, RAF Lossiemouth, RAF Coningsby, RAF Brize Norton, and RAF Leeming. Notably, both NATO allies—such as France and Türkiye—and a non-NATO participant, Saudi Arabia, are involved.

Behind a trio of French Rafale jets, I spoke with Group Captain Jim Calvert, Exercise Director for Cobra Warrior, to gain insight into the overarching goals of this training event, how real-world lessons influence its design, and what truly measures success for the air crews involved.

With fast jets like the F-15SA, F-16, and Rafale operating alongside the RAF’s Eurofighter Typhoon, plus air-to-air refuelling assets and support helicopters, Cobra Warrior aims to train participants in high-intensity, large-force tactical air warfighting operations while also testing essential enabling capabilities such as cyber communication, logistics, and joint terminal air control.

When asked about the key objectives of Cobra Warrior, Calvert underscored the exercise’s leading status and its focus on bringing different nations together:

“Well, we’re very fortunate here in the UK to run and host, I think, the premier air exercise in Europe. So that’s Cobra Warrior 25-1, which is where we are now, and 25-2, which [is] later on [in] the year. So 25-1, the key aims really, for this exercise, are to do with the integration of nations, their capabilities, as well as practicing our tactics and ensuring compatibility…between what we do.”

This multinational element lies at the heart of the exercise. Over its duration, participants conduct a spectrum of missions ranging from defensive counter-air to offensive operations, all carefully choreographed by directing staff based at RAF Waddington. The large-scale scenarios incorporate both air and ground-based threats, requiring crews to coordinate tactics, share best practices, and operate effectively as a combined force.

Turning to contemporary conflicts, I asked whether lessons from Ukraine factor into the training. According to Calvert, Cobra Warrior focuses on broad themes from the digital evolution of warfare rather than mirroring specific, real-world scenarios:

“Yeah, yes, it’s more rather than specific, ‘This is what…is happening in Ukraine, and therefore we are going to mimic…exactly what’s being done.’ I think it’s more the macro-level lessons and how the battlefield…has changed with digital evolution. …It’s about electromagnetic warfare. It’s about owning the electromagnetic…spectrum, or equally denying it from your opposition. …Online, you can see GPS denial throughout…Eastern Europe…in Ukraine. And so it’s…how you operate in those sorts of environments. …That’s the way that war fighting, we believe, is likely to take place in the future.”

True to that emphasis, Cobra Warrior incorporates scenarios where participants must contend with GPS denial, cyber threats, and advanced air defenses spread across sites in northern England. The exercise also includes maritime operations over parts of the North Sea, and land forces operating in areas like Otterburn and RAF Spadeadam. These elements collectively simulate a challenging, multi-domain environment aimed at replicating the complexities of modern conflict.

Lastly, Calvert outlined how he and his team gauge whether an exercise of this magnitude meets its objectives. While clear tactical and technical milestones exist, he emphasised that forging meaningful bonds between international crews is the true hallmark of success:

“I think the fact that when we arrived—even on day one—it’s meeting each other, those briefs, those understandings of not only platform and your country’s capabilities…and its hardware, but it’s the people. It’s the relationships, it’s the understanding…actually, you do things very similar to us, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it sometimes does. And it’s—I think perhaps most importantly—it’s in the future when we go and operate together, it’s being able to say, ‘How are you?’ rather than ‘Who are you?’ So it’s building those relationships and understanding that we can operate and integrate together and we are better for it.”

That human dimension remains crucial, especially as Cobra Warrior will continue to evolve alongside emerging technologies, new aircraft capabilities, and shifting strategic landscapes. By offering realistic, large-scale missions, fostering interoperability, and emphasising camaraderie between partner nations, the exercise ensures all participants leave better prepared for potential real-world contingencies—and better acquainted with each other.