Page 86 - The KRH Year of 2023 (CREST Sharing)

86
The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
Number IX (Bomber) NSquadron
o doubt the focus of 2023 for
Number IX (Bomber) Squadron of RAF Lossiemouth was our four- month deployment on Operation AZOTIZE at the end of March. However, before that, it was a
demanding start to the year as we single-handedly held the UK’s northern element of the Quick Reaction Alert (Interceptor) (QRA) task for a period and underwent a standards and eval- uation visit, all the while preparing for the forthcoming Op. We also managed to fit in some Counter Unmanned Aircraft System training with a Draken DA-42 (a relatively small and slow prop aircraft) as well as hosting two Typhoons from the German Air Force here to conduct some interoperability train- ing. Flying sorties included a two-week Exercise TARTAN AZOTIZE Close Air Support exercise at Kinloss with Joint Tactical Air Controllers from various units, enjoying some excellent weather for February. This was rare training for our pilots and has cemented skills usually only flown synthetically.
The second quarter of the year was given over to Operation AZOTIZE. This is a NATO Air Defence QRA task guarding the airspace over the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. We operated jointly alongside the German Air Force (GAF) for the first month undertaking Combined Baltic Air Policing (CBAP), before taking over the mission in its entirety at the beginning of May. The Battle Rhythm consisted of ‘HOT’ and ‘COLD’ weeks which were coordinated between the NATO nations on BAP at the same time; this was IX(B) Squadron for the UK (operating as part of 140 Expeditionary Air Wing, along- side the GAF) at Amari Air Base in Estonia, as well as Romania and Portugal working from Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania.
During a HOT week, we held QRA and could have been (and were) scrambled at any time. Whether a scramble was called was determined by a multitude of factors, including what type of aircraft was under scrutiny, what activity it was conducting, what direction it was flying in and what those monitoring it were expecting it to do. During these weeks, IX(B) Squadron also conducted practice scrambles as well as other training activity to maintain readiness and currency.
During COLD weeks the Squadron conducted training serials and participated in numerous exercises designed to challenge both personnel and equipment in various high-end warfight- ing scenarios, which provided the opportunity to work
alongside NATO air and ground assets that wouldn’t normally be possible in the UK. We supported a multitude of exer- cises, from Close Air Support in Estonian ranges and Ground Based Air Defence Large Force Exercise integration in Latvia, to Dissimilar Air Combat Training with USAF F22 aircraft in Poland. Air Maritime Integration with USS PORTER and HMS MERSEY was also successfully conducted.
Our first live scramble happened during the second week of the det when our boss, Wg Cdr Richard Leask took off alongside a GAF Typhoon to intercept a Russian refuelling aircraft (Il-78 MIDAS) flying between St Petersburg and Kaliningrad, which had failed to communicate with air traffic control in Estonia. This is a regular occurrence, and the interception itself was rou- tine. Nevertheless, it was the first time such a joint operation had been carried out, so it was a significant achievement for the Squadron, the UK, Germany and NATO. Just three days later another joint scramble was launched, this time to inter- cept a Russian military Tu-134 passenger jet flying close to Estonian airspace, known by the NATO name of ‘Crusty’. The Tu-134 was being escorted by two Su-27 Flanker B fighter jets, and accompanied by an AN-12 CUB military transport aircraft. The busy operational tempo continued into April, when at the end of the month we said goodbye to our German counterparts to go it alone!
Exercise BOLD HUSSAR also took place in April, a three-day Close Air Support training task which involved us working with British, French and Estonian Defence Force Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) based at Tapa in eastern Estonia (the British and French ground forces are part of the long- established NATO Forward Presence mission in support of the Estonia Defence Force). During the exercise the Estonian JTACs took the lead on the ground, supported by their NATO allies from the UK and France. The air-to-ground targeting serials that were conducted proved the RAF’s ability to precisely