Flight international

ightglobal.com 15-21 August 2017 | Flight International | 17

Presidential fleet

renewal gathers

pace

Defence P

AIR POLICING

on the aircraft is required.
The RAF deployed Tranche 1
aircraft which have passed
through the EP1 enhancement
programme, and due to the EAW
construct they are flown without
squadron markings. Flight Fleets
Analyzer records the single-seat
aircraft as aged between 10.1 and
11.4 years. Among the earliest of
the UK’s Eurofighters, they will
be retained in use until at least
2030, with the air policing role
likely to remain a priority.
“Our serviceability has been
good out here,” Hanson says,
pointing to the strength of the
unit’s logistics planning.
While two of its aircraft are
“standing Q”, the detachment’s
other Typhoons conduct training
flights with assets from Romania
and nearby nations, and such ac-
tivities also take place during
“off” weeks. Coe says a total of
around 24 to 28 flights are made

per week.

Air policing duties are tasked

from a NATO combined air op-

erations centre in Torrejon,

Spain, via a command and con-

trol centre in Bucharest. Hanson

says the way in which such mis-

sions are allocated and moni-

tored is exactly the same as they

would be for a Typhoon pilot

scrambling in the UK.

ALPHA SCRAMBLE

A first – and so far only –

“Alpha” scramble was performed

late last month, when a Typhoon

was sent up to monitor the move-

ments of two Russian air force

Tupolev Tu-22M3s, which the

RAF says were “heading south

near NATO airspace”.

“The jets did not come within

visual range of each other,” the

service says, with the strategic

bombers having remained in in-

ternational airspace before de-

parting the area.

“There are a lot of Russian air-

craft based in Crimea at the mo-

ment, and they exercise in the

Black Sea,” Hanson notes. “There

is a bit of an understanding as to

what each other gets up to – it’s

very much day-to-day business

for us, and for them.”

However, the level of activity

fell markedly before the RAF

duty began – possibly due to fac-

tors including the completion

earlier this year of a deployment

near Syria by the Russian navy’s

lone aircraft carrier, and a major

gunnery competition currently

being performed by its air force.

Further training, or “Tango”

flights, have also been made by

the two QRA-tasked jets, which

are armed with MBDA Asraam

short-range air-to-air missiles and

a Mauser 27mm cannon, and

could also carry medium-range

Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAMs.

RAF jets also appeared in the

static display at a recent air show

in Bucharest, and training and fa-

miliarisation flights have been

conducted with the host nation’s

MiG-21s and newly-fielded F-16s.

Romania’s MiG-21s – two of

which remain on standby while

the RAF aircraft are on QRA duty

• are armed with Rafael Python II
  short-range air-to-air missiles and
  a pod-housed gun. “It’s good, and
  they know how to use it well,”
  Coe says. “We’ve learned quite a
  lot from those guys, and vice-ver-
  sa. They’ve helped us in terms of
  airspace and where we are and
  what we’re doing.”
  Hanson says the RAF’s pres-
  ence has also enabled the Roma-
  nian air force to use the F-16’s
  Link 16 datalink capability across
  the same network for the first time


• an advance he describes as “a
  great story for interoperability”.
  “We don’t have to be on quick
  reaction alert to do a NATO mis-
  sion,” Coe says. “This is the
  Royal Air Force operating in
  southeastern Europe and work-
  ing with colleagues with whom
  we don’t often get an opportunity
  [to co-operate with]. The great
  thing is, all of our NATO allies
  want [to work with] us.”
  Typhoons have also trained
  with Bulgarian MiG-29s and
  Hungarian Saab Gripens, plus

Greek F-16s and US Air National

Guard Boeing F-15Cs from Roma-

nia’s Campia Turzii base.

“We’re probably having a

greater effect with our strategic

messaging during those defence

engagement weeks,” Hanson says

of the joint training activities.

With the work largely having

involved within-visual-range

manoeuvring, he notes: “Ty-

phoon has been shown off to its

greatest capability.”

JOINT TRAINING

Using a Rafael Litening III target-

ing pod, the aircraft have also

taken part in close air support

training involving the US Air

Force, US Marine Corps and Ro-

manian military, and during air/

maritime integration training

with a NATO naval task group.

Its pilots will also train with

their Turkish air force counter-

parts.

The Romanian deployment

has built on the RAF Typhoon

force’s regular contribution to

NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mis-

sion, which involves sending air-

craft to Estonia and Lithuania. At

the end of Operation Biloxi, a

Voyager and two Eurofighters

will visit Amari air base, to exer-

cise with the Estonian air force

and locally-deployed UK ground

forces. This will come as the UK

detachment hands over the

shared QRA duty at the end of

August to Royal Canadian Air

Force Boeing F/A-18s.

“What we have achieved here

politically is ground-breaking

stuff – it’s never been done be-

fore,” Hanson says. “We’re proud

of the faith that the Romanians

have placed in us.”

“Having a Royal Air Force Ty-

phoon land just shows to every-

body in NATO we really mean

business,” Coe says. “We are

here, and working together.” ■

A quartet of Eurofighters

share air-defence duties with

Romanian air force MiG-21s

“There are a lot of

Russian aircraft based

in Crimea now – it’s

day-to-day business

for us, and for them”

Sqn Ldr Paul Hanson

Chief of staff operations, 3 Sqn,

Royal Air Force

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