RAF stage large scale military exercise in Lewis

RAF aircraft and crews are deploying to Stornoway this week for a major exercise.

Around 60 personnel are taking part in in Exercise Agile Pirate which will practice refuelling and rearming of Typhoon fighter jets from a forward location.

Lewis will play host to visiting Typhoon jets from RAF Lossiemouth and A400M large transport plane from RAF Brize Norton.

The exercise is an important element in developing the future agile combat employment concept which aims to enable the RAF to operate from a greater number of locations, to provide increased flexibility and resilience. It is being developed and implemented using a series of exercises over the next three years.

A headquarters from 138 Expeditionary Air Wing based at RAF Marham will command the deployment made up of specialists in personnel preparation and admin, tactical refuelling teams, armaments experts, logisticians, force protection and not least civilian cooperation and support from Stornoway Airport.

Exercise planner, squadron leader Astle said: “The next few days will test our ability with the minimum footprint of people and kit to receive, debrief, re-arm, refuel and rebrief a combat air capability.

“In short bursts of activity, we will use an A400M to bring in kit and also directly refuel our in-situ fuel bowser to support the Typhoon – an activity delivered by 1 Expeditionary Logistics Squadron from RAF Wittering.

“At the same time, six squadron engineers will service and simulate re-arming the aircraft while the crews take advantage of our deployed comms capability to debrief and rebrief prior to re-launching.

“All of this under the watchful eye of a deployed team from 34 Squadron RAF Regiment and other security specialists providing an enclave protection and counter-intruder capability."

The exercise is designed to test a fundamental question: what is the minimum footprint of people and kit and processes required to successfully deploy and sustain aircraft to a temporary location at short notice.

The RAF have chosen to use Stornoway as a location due to its relative remoteness, which in turn has forced the deploying elements to consider air transportable options; this removes the easy solutions that simply deploying from known main operating bases provide.

Although currently local to the UK and utilising RAF assets, agile combat exercises will grow to support United States Air Forces in Europe Force Elements and those of NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force partners.

RAF staging large scale military exercise in Lewis

28 November 2021