combat aircraft

Dickens reports to No 83 Expeditionary

Air Group at Al Udeid, Qatar, and

ultimately to the Permanent Joint

Headquarters (PJHQ) in the UK. He says

around 1,000 personnel are deployed

across the Mediterranean region and the

wider Middle East, most of whom are

supporting ‘Shader’ — the UK name for

the mission to counter IS. ‘The group is

balanced in terms of air capability,’ says

Dickens. ‘I have combat air capabilities

here, which have the ability to do control

of the air and attack. I have the mobility

assets. Voyager tankers refuel the aircraft

in the operating areas. I also have air

transport aircraft — on a daily basis we

have resupply coming out from the UK in

terms of Voyagers, A400Ms, and it’s not

unusual to see C-17s.’

The Combined Air Operations Center

(CAOC) in Al Udeid is where the overall

campaign is orchestrated. Air tasking

orders (ATOs) cascade out to the various

coalition operational cells, each ful lling

an important element of a complex jigsaw

puzzle that produces an overall e ect.

The UK’s involvement was initially

limited to Iraq, and continues at the

invitation of the Iraqi government. ‘In

Syria, we’re working with the Syrian

Democratic Forces [SDF] on the ground,

and they’re providing us with partners

that are helping us with some of the

activity,’ Dickens explains. ‘It’s important

that we understand that some of the pace

of this campaign is set by their capabilities

and their ability to move forward, because

we need to operate with the consent of

the people on the ground.’

Above: The
RAF Typhoons
have now
been involved
in Operation
‘Shader’ for three
years, mostly
fl ying overwatch
and attack
missions.
Crown Copyright

Right: Gp Capt
Chas Dickens, the
current No 903
Expeditionary Air
Wing commander.
Jamie Hunter

http://www.combataircraft.net // November 2018 87