Page 92 - KRH Regimental Journal 2022

90 The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
IX(B) Sqn Engineer at work
the Vologda region before heading towards the UK. Video from inside the cockpit shows the pilot, before panning round to reveal our Typhoons to the left and right of the aircraft. The Russian defence ministry declared its planes were flying in strict accord- ance with the international regulations over neutral waters, and indeed in this instance, at no time did the Russian bombers enter UK sovereign airspace.
We were involved with Exercises STORM WARRIOR and COBRA WARRIOR over the summer months, which had the aim of developing and concluding the training of pilots under- taking their Qualified Weapons Instructor (QWI) Course at RAF Coningsby. STORM WARRIOR focussed on the ‘control of the air’ and ‘attack’ phases of the course, providing the RAF’s Combat Air Force with the appropriate level of tactical training in a vari- ety of threat environments and scenarios in order to instruct and develop Typhoon (and Lightning II) QWI undergraduates. IX(B) Sqn supported the exercise by providing both Red (enemy) and Blue (friendly) air elements, which required us to generate four aircraft at a time and thus kept our engineers hard at work! The Sqn then delivered the Red Air serials for COBRA WARRIOR, which concluded the training of the QWI course pilots. It was a
Missile release!
UK Air led international and coalition large force exercise, focus- ing on developing the tactical skills of all participating aircrew and supporting elements to operate as a part of Composite Air Operations in a congested, degraded and operationally contested environment up to near peer conflict.
IX(B) Squadron participated once again in the recurrent event Exercise POINT BLANK, when our Typhoons acted as Red Air in this Large Force Employment exercise over the North Sea just east of Coningsby. It was a 2-day aerial exercise with the Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35A Lightnings from Leeuwarden, and United States Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles from the 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. Over 50 aircraft were involved overall, including a range of 4th and 5th generation fighters, helicopters, command and control and AAR aircraft.
Interoperability training was achieved in a demanding and highly contested air environment, which also included the support of NATO AWAC aircraft. As well as flying complex missions, it encompassed the planning and utilisation of capabilities to ensure we’re ready to operate collegiately alongside our allies and across dispersed units and multiple nations. The size and complexity of
A IX(B) Sqn Typhoon departing for Missile Practice Camp loaded with ASRAAM