Air Power 2017

54 AIR POWER 2017 21 ST CENTURY PARTNERSHIPS

21 ST CENTURY PARTNERSHIPS

Anne Paylor explains how Exercise Eastern Venture not only

helped to strengthen existing ties with partners in the Middle

East and Asia-Pacific regions, it also saw the RAF hosted for the

first time by Japan and the Republic of Korea

EXERCISE

EASTERN VENTURE

I

n the autumn of 2016, the Royal Air Force

undertook a major tour of the Asia-Pacific

and Middle East regions, demonstrating

the United Kingdom’s strategic reach

and wider interests, while underlining the

importance of close ties with Asia.

Exercise Eastern Venture, which ran from

29 September to 2 December 2016, involved the

Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team (the Red Arrows);

Typhoon multirole fighter aircraft; Voyager tanker

aircraft; and C-130J Hercules and C-17 Globemaster.

As well as a comprehensive display schedule

by the Red Arrows, Eastern Venture included

three separate back-to-back exercises with the

air forces of six Asia-Pacific nations. Two of these

nations – Japan and the Republic of Korea – had

never before conducted major air exercises with

any foreign nation other than the United States.

A total of eight RAF Typhoons from 1(F) Squadron

and 2 (Army Cooperation) Squadron flew 20,000 miles

to undertake these exercises, supported by RAF Voyager

tanker aircraft undertaking multiple air-to-air refuelling

operations. Stopping in various countries en route, the

Typhoons covered more than 7,600 miles in the region.

EXERCISE BERSAMA LIMA 16

The first element of Eastern Venture was Exercise

Bersama Lima 16, an annual exercise conducted

under the auspices of the Five Powers Defence

Arrangements (FPDA), which include Australia,

Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK. Hosted

by Malaysia, Exercise Bersama Lima aimed to develop

the integration of air, maritime and land forces of

all five nations to promote interoperability, while

at the same time exercising FPDA combined and

joint doctrines at tactical and operational levels.

It involved a Command Post Exercise (CPX)

and a Field Training Exercise (FTX), including large-

scale training missions with all of the deployed air

elements on a daily basis. The FPDA are the only

multilateral defence arrangements of their kind

that exist in South-East Asia, and 2016 marked

the 45th anniversary of the group’s formation.

EXERCISE GUARDIAN NORTH

Following the successful completion of Exercise

Bersama Lima, 2 Squadron flew on to Japan and the

Republic of Korea (ROK). The four Typhoons, supported

by a Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and a C-17

heavy-lift transport aircraft, made a 3,500-mile

non-stop flight from Malaysia to the Japan Air

Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Base at Misawa in

the northern part of the island of Honshū.

Exercise Guardian North 16 provided an

opportunity for both the UK and Japanese air forces

to learn from each other and develop their skills, and

Typhoon aircraft
participate in
Exercise Bersama
Lima 16, hosted
by Malaysia on
behalf of the Five
Powers Defence
Arrangements (PHOTO:
SGT NEIL BRYDEN/
© CROWN COPYRIGHT)